Caitlin tries to take comfort in the other woman's words, but she was still alone. Some little hope gleamed because she was not by herself. Slowly getting up, she walked back a little before finally turning away from Steve. Seeing Lara trying with the tire, she approaches the man huddled on the road. Tears still wet in her eyes, she reaches a hand to him and does her best to calm him. "Sir..." she says haltingly. "We need to get you out of here." Perhaps it was the emotion as opposed to her words, but it seemed to possibly help.
On the road- Lara got the spare tire, jack, and tools out of the back of the truck, but she wasn't very mechanically inclined and didn't really know how to go about changing a tire.
The man sniffled, taking some comfort from Caitlin's words and actions. He sat up and faced her, his eyes glistening. "Th-thank you," he said. "They ate Clara. I couldn't save her...I just kept running until I couldn't run any more. They would have eaten me too if you hadn't been there. My name is Sven. Sven Petersen."
OOC,[b]Caitlin[/b], you may now try a Mechanical Repair roll to try to change the tire. [b]Sven[/b] will help too. [b]Lara[/b], you can't roll again just yet.
Wryce, let me know if you'd like to play [b]Sven[/b]. I haven't drawn up his stats yet, but I'll try to do that later tonight. Don't forget that you also have two other characters. You haven't posted for [b]Dr. Edward Singh[/b] in ages.
"Hi, Sven! Lara Voronova - not mechanic."Lara drops the jack. "Where´s that shotgun?" She checks the mud for the shotgun and go over the truck to look for shells for it. The few rounds left in the 9mm wouldn´t last for another encounter.
On the road- Lara found the shotgun where Steve had dropped it. Searching his body, she found an open box with sixteen shells remaining. She broke open the shotgun, loaded both barrels, and closed it up again.
Sven jacked up the pickup truck and set to work changing the tire. He clearly knew his stuff, but it would take him some time working by himself.
OOC,[b]Caitlin[/b], you haven't tried a Mechanical Repair roll yet. The base skill is 20%, and you may try it if you want to help [b]Sven[/b]. If you succeed, the time required to change the tire will be shortened considerably.
Lara having put the 9mm in the lining of her jeans, with the safety on keeps the shotgun at her waist pointing forward. Should some other monster come running at them, she´d be prepared. She moves a few steps away from the dead Steve and the car and asks Sven, "Where did you come from? This or that way?" She listens to see if she can discern any noise over the two mechanics behind her.
Spoiler:
I guess, Lara doesn´t know Steve will awake pretty soon. She will believe the skinheads got bit and were infected. Steve is dead and that´s that. Sounds fair?
As Sven works, Caitlin offers, "Would you like a hand?" though she knows the most help she can be in this state is holding the lugnuts to keep them from rolling away.
"We... I came from the radio station, back to the south. Clara and I we... We were broadcasting how to bring down those things. You have to get them in the head, you know? But it's harder than it sounds... They got Clara..."
Sven falls silent and begins working intently under the car, hiding the tears streaming down his face.
OOC,Actually, [b]Sally[/b] did tell [b]Lara[/b] that the dead were rising back at the end of Chapter 4, in Planet Terror. However, [b]Lara[/b] found it hard to believe and has never seen it happen herself...and she still hasn't.
On the road-
It took Sven half an hour working in the dark, but he managed to change the tire. He discarded the flat by the side of the road, lowered the jack, and put all of the tools back in the rear of the truck. Nothing had disturbed them while they worked, and the area seemed completely deserted.
OOC,[b]Lara[/b] and [b]Caitlin[/b], if there's anything else you want to do while [b]Sven[/b] was busy changing the tire, you may do so while he was working.
While Sven is changing the flat, Lara asks Caitlin if there´s more shells for the shotgun in the truck. And maybe more weapons. She checks the ammo for the two handguns. She divides the ammo so it´s the same number of bullets in each gun. Are there any axe or blade in the truck?
Lara, content with the quietness checks the truck for more weapons. "Sven, you have a gun? Or you can have mine.. Not many bullets." Having found a hunters coat along the things on the truck, she puts it on and pours the shells from the box in the two front pockets.
OOC,[b]Lara[/b]'s pistol has 5 bullets left, and [b]Caitlin[/b]'s has only 2, so it's impossible to make them even (unless you want to waste a bullet). Which gun gets 4 bullets, and which gets 3?
There are no more shotgun shells in the truck. The only sharp object in the back of the truck is a hatchet.
Lara gets the one with three bullets. A novice might need more attempts to actually hit something. During the reallocation of arms, she decides that it´s better if Caitlin hands the shotgun. It was her father´s and she should have it.
"Sestra,take your father´s gun. It´s your prize. Use it good."Lara weighs the pistols and hands the lighter of them to Sven. "No more love, just pain." Having done what she can, she gets behind the wheel and says, "The farm?"
Caitlin numbly takes her father's shotgun and holds it almost as if she does not recognize what it is, somewhat like River Tamm in the final episode of 'Firefly'. Lara's question brings her back to her senses. She helps Sven into the truck when he's finished and pulls out the map again before nodding to Lara. "Let's go."
On the road-
Everyone got back into the truck again, with Lara behind the wheel, Cailtin in the shotgun seat, and Sven seated between them. Lara started off to the north again, following Caitlin's directions to reach the ranch. They had been delayed for quite a while, but Caitlin estimated that they would still arrive a little before 6:00, shortly before sunrise - as long as there were no further delays. Right now it was about a quarter past three in the morning.
OOC,Feel free to talk to each other during the journey. Let me know when you're ready for me to move things along.
The two pistols are identical except for the number of bullets they contain. The lighter one would actually be the one with three bullets as opposed to the one with four.
After driving at a steady pace for a couple of minutes, Lara breaks the silence. "Sad for your families. Really sad. We like family... almost." She extends her right hand to Caitlin and presses hers. She glances at Sven right behind her. "Right?"
Caitlin takes the offered hand before allowing Lara to return her hands to the wheel. "He was all I had left... Until you showed up... How... how did you manage to get to us?" she asks, trying desperately to get her mind off the events of the past few days.
OOC,There is no back seat. The only seats are in the cab of the pickup truck, and it seats three. [b]Sven[/b] is in the middle seat, so [b]Lara[/b] would be reaching past him.
Lara gets back to driving the pick up with both hands. The 9mm is kept in one of the front pockets of the coat. "I... got involved with some bad people and was a slave. They fled from the bad things. I and some of the skins, you say that? Skins head... They...they kept me in a room. And used me..." She reflects on what had happened. "I got away and followed the road to your farm. Without clothes." "In Russia I was a student in Archaeology." "Now, I wish I was GRU."
She tries to laugh at her own story. "No use crying. Best to laugh."