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Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:24 am Post subject:

"Maybe so, but we're also better prepar'd now than we'd been for some time. We can handle things from here on, I'm sure... Unless Silver City has spawned more of these things than we can handle. That'll be where hidin' out some more comes in. We could use good snipers like you and Wyatt when yer done with Zach. Head my way when ya can."

Wyatt tells Joe, "They probably drew out more of them than what's out there if I'm guessin Finn's still at his best. Have faith in her kin. Rebecca and I will draw more out before we leave, opposite of this place." Joe nods thoughtfully.
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

Rebecca wishes she had Wyatt's optimism in this. She pats down her pockets, checking her ammo as they ride towards the warrens. "I'll need a couple boxes of shells for tha rifle and tha shotgun," she inform Tristan. "To have on me when we leave if we're gonna be drawin' those things after us. "And we'll both be needin' a coupla bandoleers for tha pistols."

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject:

Tristan nods, "That can be done easily... The equipment we needed most 's kept immediately inside. Pick up what ya need on tha way out."

...

The Warrens are surprisingly quiet and convenientely well supplied in air as well, a draft carrying through most of the once abandoned shafts and natural caves.

Many small crates are organized, a man sitting by on a wooden box with a ledger. He nods to both Rebecca and Wyatt as they pass by.

They find the alcove in question, lit by only a few candles. A couple of blankets are laid out in the dirt, where Zach lays, he appears to be sleeping but perks up when he sees them approach. "Wyatt, Rebecca. It is so good ta see ya."
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

"Hey, ya lazy bones," Rebeca grins. "Finally found a way ta get outta trimmin' hooves, I see."

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:41 am Post subject:

Zach grins back, "You ain't kiddin'..." He looks at Wyatt's long scar and he lays back down into the blankets a little bit, too exhausted to stay propped up on his elbow. Wyatt eyes are moist and the smile on his face is both wonderful and terrifying, for the light enhances the grotesquerie of his scar.

Wyatt kneels closest to Zach and squeezes his wrist, his face expressing amazed excitement. "It's a miracle, Zach... Doc Dee musta told ya: he thought you were a goner."

"He mentioned it," Zach answers with a smug smile. "So, I also heard you two got hitch'd. Wassat about?" His mouth slurs the words a little. Wyatt hands him a canteen from a box nearby.
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

"It's a part of my far reachin' an' conv'luted plan ta finally get a brother," Rebecca snorts. She lightly smacks Zach's covered foot. "Whadda ya think it's about?"

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:38 pm Post subject:

Zach nods, grinning, "And fer that ta happen ya had ta keep me alive anyhow... I know I'd have done tha same if I'd had the skill, but thank you."

...

Wyatt says, "Do ya need anythin'? Just let us know... One thing though... I'll..."
Zach nods again and interrupts, "I know... You'll be goin' too and I'm happy for the both of ya. But there's something I needed ta tell ya... In my dreams, I saw thing.. This coma was a spooky thing, like being lost but aware of stuff."

He drinks a little bit from the canteen again and continues. "I could feel their minds probin' and surroundin' me but for some reason they couldn't affect me. The machines I mean. I know so much about them now and I don't know what would be useful to ya now since I don't know what the situation is out there..."

Zach turns to Rebecca and says, "Doc Dee told me 'bout tha surgery... And I think that whatever ya removed yesterday was keepin' me asleep and keepin' those things' minds at bay... It felt so much like a dream, but Doc Dee told me all 'bout Finn and yer other cousins and it all fit too well, ya know? And everythin's chang'd so damn much that I thought maybe there was more to it."

Zach looks worried and hesitant, as if they might think him to be crazy.
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

Rebecca's expression is thoughtful as she moves around from the foot of the makeshift bed to beside it. She squats down on the edge and gives Zach an intense look. "Tell me," she says quietly. "Whatever you can. What do they want? What are their weaknesses?"

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:33 am Post subject:

Zach is searching for words and finally says, "They... want ta grow. Their minds are truly those of children and they are prey ta peer pressure, very much so. They wish ta grow in number an' wait for their 'Overlord'," he emphasizes the word to give it importance. "That is how they refer ta their master or guide or whatever it is that they follow."

"As far as I could tell, they're always tryin' ta push the boundaries of their confinement," he pauses. "I don' mean escapin'... I mean explorin'. They probed an' probed an' probed at my dreams and nightmares..." Zach can't help but shudder and says, looking off into space a bit, "They're like kids... it's like a game ta them."

Wyatt listens attentively, tightening his lips in anger.

"They continue to search fer more minds like theirs ta bring ta them an' make more of themselves... Silver City is a ghost town of industrial proportions now, unless my visions are false or interpreted..." Zach continues, looking into Wyatt's and Rebecca's eyes in turn, "They don't want us dead... They want us turn'd inta machines. I can't sense their presence anymore... Just a weird chill once'n a while that seems connected ta the dreams somehow."

Wyatt looks at Rebecca. She can tell he's considering several options at once but awaits her thoughts on the matter. "I dunno what weaknesses they might have," Zach adds as Wyatt and Rebecca exchange a long look, "but I know that yer cousins drew them out past their comfort zone easily by enticing them inta a game of chase. It got'em all excited... Then it all stopped suddenly and I was just stuck with tha first dream in what felt like years..."
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

Rebecca's lips press into a line as Zach finishes. She pinches the bridge of her nose and looks at Wyatt. "Short of destroyin' Silver City, we can't stop 'em. Even then, I don' know if that'd work. We can draw some off, but they'll just make more." She stands and blows out a breath. "T said explosives destroyed 'em, but ya got ta be able to bring 'em down well placed shot. Somehow."

"Children." She frowns. "Games."

Rebecca turns back to Zach. "Do you know anything else about this Overseer?"

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject:

"Not much... It's some sorta father figure or somethin'. And I can't tell if it's a real or imagin'd thing," Zach says.

Wyatt adds, "We had trouble gettin' bullets past their outer shell... They mill tha steel in tha old train yard, jus' thick enough ta stop bullets I guess... It was a long-standin' victory tha day Zach and I got hurt... They must've clean'd up and started over..."
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Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

"Father figure?" Rebecca snorts. "Wonder if we can have Uncle T threaten ta tan their hides?"

"They haveta be able ta see outta those things," Rebecca points out to Wyatt. "How big are the ports they use ta see?"

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:15 am Post subject:

Arden · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 720 Location: Oklahoma

"That's all I need," Rebecca nods confidently. "Long as it's big enough for a bullet ta pass through. In a confined space, even buckshot's deadly."

She pauses a beat then points at Zach sternly. "And you get ta gettin' better. T's gonna need ya all tha more with Wyatt gone. Especially with your insight inta these -- things."

Nihilistic Mind · Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject:

Zach smiles and nods, "I could live without it, but I thought it might help ya ta know a bit more..." He rubs his temples, "It's all bin much too weird."

Wyatt pats Zach's arm and says, "Hang in there, sonny boy... You'll be back on yer feet in no time, I'm sure," he grins.
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