"Where do ya think he was goin'?"
"Hard to say... but I just know he's got a group out there, somewhere... maybe he was headed to meet up with them? He took a lot of supplies, enough for a long trip, or to feed a few others. Maybe he liked the idea of Raleigh." Skully stated coolly.
"Could've let us in on his lil' scheme, if that's where he was headed... woulda been happy to tag along," Slash mumbled. His brow furrowed, and a scowl played over his lips.
"We can't trust somebody like that. Nobody saw him loading up the Hummer. Didn't hear a peep out of him—not a clue how he even got the keys. He took a lot, man... almost like he had some help or something. I've looked all over this place, there's no one hiding here, no one else living here..." Skully ran a hand through his hair, pushing the dark locks back before he rolled his shoulders. The tension had yet to let up. They'd been here such a short time and he felt the most uncomfortable he had in weeks. Sitting still, and lounging in literal luxury; these things didn't quite feel real. It was abnormal.
What was worse, there was danger now lingering here. It hung thickly in the air, like a deadly gas... only his older brother was too fucking stupid to see it.
"...Dog?"
Skully chortled at that bit, and slowly reached for the hunting knife tucked into the holder on his right leg, gently removing the blade and daring to clean his nails with it.
"Nah. Probably Ruthless if anybody... Dog wouldn't cross me like that." Skully's eyes narrowed the slightest as he turned his gaze from his fingernails to Slash. "...He should know a good bit about the kid by now, though. He's been hanging around him for a long while. All week."
"Yeah... they're best fuckin' buds at this point. Always spot 'em lurkin' 'round together..."
Silence settled between them, an easy indication that both men were thinking hard about their next course of action. Their initial plan to force the group to go north, to find refuge with an actual live community of organized survivors, had now been pushed back. Transport enough for all of them was a rough find—the other vehicles in their caravan were outdated, unarmored, and harder to fuel. There were hundreds of reanimated now clawing at the front gates, too... thanks to the commotion.
"Tires that size ain't gonna be easy to come by. Gonna have ta make a run... a long one. Nearest city be our best bet. That or we take individual cars... even then, a run... gonna need to find the fuel for 'em all." There was bitterness in his comrade's tone of voice.
"No damage to the engine, right?"
Slash shook his head in response. "Not from what I can tell... windshield busted out, few bullet holes, and the back tires... still full o' shit too."
"Send me Dog." Skully tossed the hunting knife across the way, a thick thud echoing up the stairwell as it buried deep into the wall. "I want to know why he didn't come and tell me the kid was up to something. He's supposed to be keeping an eye on him. If the kid is all about wasting supplies with his foolishness, even with what he seems to know about surviving, it won't be worth it to keep him around. If he's unstable and flighty, he's a risk—a liability... Oz won't see that. Too busy trying to save the fuckin' world." Skully rolled his eyes.
"It's your last night on watch, right? Why don't you go down there... shake him up a bit? Try and get him to tell you what he knows, what he's been up to. Who he's trying to sneak off to save out there. Who knows, maybe he'll spill something worth knowing. Maybe he's trying to get back to his Ma? If that's the case, I'd be happy to help him bring her home..." The men laughed in unison as Slash headed back out the door they had come through, and Skully remained seated on the dark stairwell, his irritations subsiding, for the time being.
He hated when Oz undermined him, and he hated Oz's little crusades for saving youngsters and strays when all the world was going to shit. The dead became a second thought when it came to the rescue cases they could encounter with other groups of survivors.
Oz sure as hell didn't press any of the female strays they came across to join their group; they made a point to avoid women, especially those traveling alone. How obnoxious his brother could be. How easily he seemed to forget about the basic needs and cravings for human interaction his own men had for the sake of nobility and morality that no one—
NO ONE
—else in this world seemed to hold onto any longer.
He wondered deep down if the reason Oz made the decision to bypass lone women was because he didn't trust his men... or because he didn't trust himself? He tried his best to play the role of the noble savior, to back away slowly, to not intimidate... but Skully knew deep down Oz was just as sinful and human as any other living man. Maybe he just wouldn't be able to help himself if the opportunity presented itself. He stood and went to retrieve his hunting knife with a smug smirk, yanking the eight-inch blade from the wall and handling it with delicate fondness as he let his mind wander, seemingly delighted at the idea that his good and proper big brother was just as much a savage as any one of them. He toyed with the blade idly and waited for Dog to make his appearance.
—————
Charlie paced her new, temporary accommodations. Occasionally, she moved to the curtains to peer fearfully beyond and make sure the cars were still piled against one another, subduing the massive crowding of the undead just beyond. She hadn't seen so many in one place in... she couldn't even remember how long. It had been far too long now since she had seen one up close—the decoy in the room down the way to help her slip out unseen had been it, and even that one was barely skin and bones of the person it had once been. It was quiet down that way now. No doubt the group had taken care of it when they first arrived. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her heart thumping erratically as she tried to calm her nerves... the anxiety was real.
These were different.
Their eyesight may not be the best at this point but their appetites and physical capabilities were terrifying compared to the starving rotters in the old moat. A group this large could easily overpower even a healthy living human, and it would be only seconds for them to commence ripping said person to pieces and devouring their remains.
The air seemed pervaded with the sickly miasma of decay, disrupting the calm and serenity of the ocean air, seeping into the unsecured tower carried on the high winds surrounding the resort. Her stomach churned. She swore she could hear their hands thumping against the cars and outgrown nails raking against metal... she could hear their teeth grinding in anticipation of a meal. They had not been frenzied, yet. They hadn't spotted life in the darkness, only heard the sound of gunfire and metal scraping harshly against metal when she crashed the Hummer into the bridge.
A sudden, soft knock on the door snapped Charlie's attention back behind her with a leap of hopefulness that Dog had finally returned to keep her company, while she was reduced to being the lookout for the passing herd of reanimated corpses. They were drawn by her careless actions, partially, and that was why she didn't dare argue against Oz's judgment.
Deep down, she wondered if it had been a good thing: being stopped just short of driving right into the mass of them. Even the Hummer would eventually find itself stuck after plowing through so many rotted corpses. Perhaps the foolhardy endeavor had saved her life.
She eagerly opened the door, expecting the younger man to be standing there, and finding no one... it took a spare few seconds for her to realize what was happening, but before she could slam the door closed once again and snap the deadbolt back into place, a hand caught the edge and easily pressed it back against her swing.
"Heeeey now, kiddo... can't hide in there all night... supposed to be keepin' an eye on 'em." Amused, Slash shoved the door the rest of the way open despite Charlie's desperate attempts to shut the door on him.
Charlie stumbled back a few steps, her heart skipping a beat, anxiously putting some distance between them. He did not enter the dark room, but rather, hooked a thumb in a belt loop and relaxed his posture as he leaned against the frame or the door. A smirk was curled over his lips, almost playfully, and he gestured with a set of fingers for her to come out.
She stood there for a long while, avoiding his gaze. A sharp whistle pulled her attention, and as she gritted her teeth and glared at him, she shuffled out of the room uncomfortably. Slash closed the door gently behind her before waving her to go forward down into the darkness of the hall.
"I'm on the shift with ya... y'know, it's my last day since our lil'... tussle in the hall last week. Luuuucky you, huh? Don't gotta be out here by yerself all night. Hey kid, no hard feelin's, right?"
"...We're cool..." She mumbled in irritation, looking nervously at the room across the hall from her own, the room Dog had said he would stay in. When she hadn't started walking Slash placed both hands on her shoulders from behind and began pushing her toward the main lobby. "Where's Dog? I... I thought you guys sent him to spy on me, or whatever..."
