(Charity, Millers Crossing)
In the center of Millers Crossing, in the town square, the 'Mayor' confronted the nude form of his wife, who had finally finished her latest dance. "Why are you doing this, wife?" Charity's husband asked, "why could we not rest in the Spirit World? Why would you bring me, all of us, back to this World, this place?"
"Because," Charity replied coldly, "you are MY people, MY husband, and this is now MY town." She gazed out over the foothills towards Bendo. "Soon I will have other towns, and other people. Even now, husband, the dead yearn to dance for me!" Her head tilted back and she howled. In the distance her howl was answered, and then again from a different direction, and then again. Nine times was she answered, and she laughed and laughed. An unseen tear formed in the corner of the Mayor's eye.?
In Bendo the first of the scavengers crested the surrounding hills, wolves, and then coyotes. Vultures began to circle overhead, waiting for their turn. Several bear lumbered towards the town, and hundres of thousands of insects crawled out of every conceivable crevice. Every single being was focused on one thing, all of the free, ripening flesh offered on the streets of Bendo.
(Chase)
Chase deep down still held out some hope¡even though he knew Etienne held no feelings or interest for him, but now that door was truly closed.? He was silent as he listened to the Sicilien¡¯s reflection on Etienne that Sicilien seemed to not only know him but knew her in a more intimate ways.? He knew passion and some of that was there.?? It was unmistakable even for him.? He found it amusing¡¡¯think you dost protest too much.¡¯ ?He looked at her when she pulled back and slapped him.?
¡°You better go get your woman, man.¡±? He said since she was needed but there was someone else whom she belonged to now.? He was waiting for them now to come up with a plan now.?
¡°Very strange.? Whatever it is we are supposed to do¡we need to get to it¡all of us to get to Miller¡¯s Crossing.? There is that point that means we have to get there.? I am not sure about stopping it but whatever the issue is¡it is trying to keep us from getting there!? So it might be more of what or who.? The longer we are here¡the longer whatever it is, would be able to build up power.? So we going in circles is more of a delay.¡±? He said as he checked his weapons and wondered about being a scavenger, not sure if money would be of any use if they didn¡¯t get rid of whatever was there for them¡or delaying them.
¡°Maybe whatever it is, is using them for power.? Now that we are aware¡no longer in the dark¡no need to hide¡or better for us¡its power is not as strong during the daylight hours¡it would be best for us to travel now¡wherever we are going?? We might need to get a move on.¡±? He said loud enough for everyone to hear.
¡°So now we have to deal with the wildlife as well as townspeople!¡±? He said as he looked at the creatures that were there with them now.
(Callie Carson)
? The trip up the stairs of the hotel to their room was uneventful. They stepped over the bodies of the dead and found everything where they'd left it. Callie quickly packed her bag, grabbed her things up and headed out the door. On the way out the bar, she stopped and grabbed a rifle out of the hands of one of the dead men on the floor, then seized a bandoleer of rifle shells and led Flynn with her back out into the street.
? "I know we can't travel to Miller's Crossing easily, but if we go anywhere else this thing is going to spread, more people will die and whatever is in Miller's Crossing becomes more powerful," the redhead told Flynn as they headed back toward the sheriff's office."We won't get another chance at this. You know that as well as....
? ?Callie stopped in mid-stride and looked around as a pack of wolves appeared across from Acton's General Store, not far up the street from the sheriff's office. They were tearing apart the body of a fallen resident of Bendo. They then heard a loud growl, and back up the street from where they'd just come, a bear wandered in from behind one of the wooden buildings and began sniffing around a couple of bodies.
? ?"...fuck!" she muttered. "That ain't normal. Animals don't just wander into town and start eating people within minutes after they die." She looked up and saw vultures, maybe a dozen or more, circling overhead.
? She started to run toward the others, bag slung over her shoulder, rifle in her hands ready to use if necessary, "We've got another problem!" she yelled to the others as they approached
(Flynn)
"I know, I know," Flynn said, running alongside Callie, carrying his saddle bags and rifle case slung over his shoulders.? "But we still have to _find_ the damned place.
"Look," the pookah said as they reached the spot where Chase and Sicilien were standing. "I've got one last trick we can try.? But we'll need horses.? Now. I figure we've got maybe a couple of minutes before these gathering beasties decide we're better eatin' than all them dead folks."? He grimaced with annoyance as he saw Etienne running off away from the rest of them.? "And someone get that deranged woman back here before she gets turned into a chew-toy for them wolves 'n bears!"? With that, he made a dash for the stables, disappearing inside and reappearing moments later with two horses in tow, muttering something to them in a strange language as he headed back to rejoin the others.
[Sicilien]
Sicilien couldn't help himself.? When his lips alighted upon Etienne's, he felt his mind being consumed by with nothing else but her.? Her scent, her skin, her body - everything that he was all too familiar with but accepted never being able to touch again, to never be able to feel her by his side again.? Yet here she was, right in front him, body pressed against his, lips kissing back with as much passion as he was exuding in that moment.? And the way she just yielded to him, to his embrace, well, he almost didn't want to believe it was happening so he wanted to take full advantage of it.
When they finally separated, Sicilien was as much out of breath as his partner.? His desire for her clear as day, pressed against her as if his life depended on her.? Had they been in any other situation but now, he would've taken her right then and there.? But when he looked back at her, his gaze changed from one of longing to confused to flabbergasted when she suddenly pulled away from him, shoving him back and slapped him with some force.? Before he could even react, she yelled at him and then took off like the she-devil herself.? Though the smack stung, it was not unlike what he 'd experienced in the past.
"Oh no, no you don't.? You don't get to disappear like that again.? Never again, Rosalie!" he said through gritted teeth and took off after her, his long coat flapping in the wind.? It wasn't lost on him that Etienne was stubbornly running straight into the fray of animals that were slowly descending upon the town.? Whether she was blind to it or was purposefully doing it, he didn't care.? However, being taller and stronger, his strides longer, he managed to catch up to her and reached out, roughly grabbing her wrist and causing them both to slide to a halt, pulling her back in a way that forced her to face him.? Her angry look was not lost on him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you mad woman?? Do you not understand the situation we're all in?" he hissed at her, exasperated that she would pull this shit again.? He felt his hackles rise but he couldn't stay mad at her for long.? Now when he's finally laid eyes on her again after all this time, he never wanted to let her go out of his sight.? "Why are you running from me?? Don't lie and say you don't know who I am.? Not after the way you answered that kiss."
(Etienne)
His lips on hers felt so very nice. And god did she miss him. He had been her world. When she had to leave him...No. she would not do it. She would not let him pull her back in.?
When he pulled her to a stop and dragged her back along the wall of the jail hidden from the view of the gamut of creatures coming there way, she blinked. He had flustered her so she didn¡¯t pay attention to what was in front of her...only fight or flight mode dominated her mind.
His question was one she didn¡¯t want to answer and she considered lying...pretending that she wasn¡¯t who she thought he was.
But his scolding caused her to look up and look around to see creaturevafter creature cresting the city proper. She frowned. They creatures seemed deliberate in their movements. While some kicked at the freshly dead flesh others skulked like they were searching... hunting.?
¡°This isn¡¯t natural,¡± she said. ¡°The bodies literally just fell dead. They haven¡¯t begun to stink yet. No way these animals came here by smell.
And look at those coyotes.¡± she pointing to a pack of coyotes. ?¡±They aren't going after the flesh...they are hunting...and my guess is it¡¯s for us.¡±
Just as she said the large pack split. Several coyotes went inside the hotel while the rest seem to track...them.
¡°We have to get to safety.¡± She said taking his hand and pulling him back to Chase. ¡°Those animals are here for us. We have to take cover.¡± She said to Chase. ¡°Do either of you have any bullets left.¡±
(Chase)
He ignored the fact that she was holding the?
Sicilien's hand, he didn't ignore it completely.? It was hard to miss, the reaction, the kiss.? But he kept his attention focused on the scavenging?of the bodies as they didn't need the guns nor the bullets or the cash.? Chase had no idea if the cash would even be useful after this but just in case he made sure to get the hardware as bullets could always be useful.? He had plenty of gunbelts by the time the other two arrived.? "I have plenty why?"? He asked as he two noticed they weren't eating if anything they would bite and gnaw maybe but that was something other would do to make sure their quarry was dead!??
"Damn!"? He said allowed this was just constant, if it wasn't demons and other creatures try to keep them locked in then the natural animals were trying to keep them here.? They needed to get to the stable but the others were in the hotel and they needed to warn them without yelling and bring further attention to them.? He cocked his rifle and looked at those...stalking.? "We need to get to the hotel, the others are over there, the we need to get horse and get the hell out of here.? Something really is trying to keep us here now!"? He said hoping between their re-connection they got the gist of what he was saying.
Tag: Chase, Callie, Flynn, Sicilien, Etienne, Charity (jumping in)
