IC-SWORD-Family Reunion(Lara/Bells/Sven/Tricia)

[Pickman37]

OOC,Jake will be sitting in the passenger seat of the truck so he has access to the window.

Jake looked in the direction Caitlin was pointing to but missed it...

"Where....? I didn't see it..."

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the gates-
Caitlin drove her truck up to the front gates, with Lara in the middle seat and Jake in the shotgun seat. Sven followed in the Civic, and Clyde, Mary, and Veronica brought up the rear in the other pickup. The vehicles lined up outside the gates, which were still barred. Someone would need to get out and open them.

"We should check out that helicopter," said Clyde. "If there are other people around with those kinds of resources, we need to get with them, especially if they're the military. They're bound to be better equipped than we are."

"Are you crazy?!" said Veronica. "The compound is off in that direction. It's too dangerous!"

Caitlin Bell,Once the helicopter set down, it could no longer be seen. It landed on a high plateau about a mile south of the compound's location.

[Pickman37]

Jake opens his door...

"I'll get the gate..."

He hops out of the truck, gun in hand, and makes his way to the ranch entrance...

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the gates-
Jake got out of the truck and headed over to the front gates of his ranch. The area just outside was still eerily deserted. It would be a simple matter to unbar the gates from the inside and swing them open, after which the vehicles could leave. It struck him that he would probably never see his ranch again. All of the work he had put into it for most of his life would be thrown away. Wherever he and his family ended up, they would have to start over again.

[Dave Syrinx]

Lara waits for Caitlin to maneuver the truck through the open gate. "We driving away from the skins, yes? To the right." She points at the road taking them away from the direction of the presumed skinhead stronghold.

[Pickman37]

Jake looks back at the ranch. He feels nostalgic and is lost in the moment but then something inside of him awakens...

"Why did those freaks stay here so long?" He speaks aloud to himself and glances at the fence. "We were distracted with that girl's antics...Did they do something to the fence?" Only the wind responds...

"Maybe they booby-trapped it. I could have swore it was open..."

Jake investigates the fence for any sign of foul play before touching it...

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the gates-
There was nothing out of the ordinary about the fence, and Jake was sure nobody had tampered with it.

[Pickman37]

Satisfied that the gate is safe, Jake swings it open then motions for the others to approach. Again, he pauses to reflect on his decision as his gaze drifts past the vehicles to his home. His heart feels heavy but in his mind, he is sure this is the right choice...

"There's no doubt those skinheads will come back..." He mutters under his breath in an attempt to re-assure himself. "Ain't nothin but trouble, especially in times like these."

He tries to wait patiently for the others but he is anxious...

[Dave Syrinx]

While Caitlin drives through the open gates slowly, Lara makes sure the safety is on on the Ruger and indicates to Caitlin to turn right. "What is this direction?" She asks it so Jake can hear as well.
"Maybe we can find a police station?"

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the gates-
"We're just gonna forget about the chopper?" said Clyde. "Those people have resources. They could protect us. We're just going to head out into the middle of nowhere with no destination in mind and hope we can survive? We're leaving the ranch, so we won't be self-sufficient any more. What happens when the food and water run out?"

"Jake will think of something," Mary said. "He always does."

Jake opened up the gate and got back in the truck without incident. All three vehicles turned right onto the road, heading east.

Jake Bell,[b]Jake[/b] knew that Flaxville lay about a mile to the east. It was barely a speck on the map, with a population of less than a hundred. It was by now far less, if anyone remained alive at all there, which was unlikely. They had probably shot down most of them themselves defending the ranch yesterday. There were no towns of any appreciable size anywhere nearby (other than Scobey, four miles to the west) so police stations were unlikely. Flaxville lay on a crossroads with a state route heading north and south. The Canadian border was not far to the north from there.

[Pickman37]

"We'll head east to Flaxville."Jake addresses Lara."We'll see what is there, even though I doubt not much. Maybe we can find some pockets of survivors. After that, we can decide whether to head north to Canada or some other choice. Maybe this horror hasn't stretched beyond our borders yet."

Jake settles in for the trip, keeping an eye on the horizon in all directions. He has forgotten about the chopper, possibly because he didn't see it, but any direction away from the compound is good by him...

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
The small convoy of vehicles drove down the road to the east for about a mile, reaching a crossroads. The small town of Flaxville lay a short distance to the north, so they turned left and drove through it.

Flaxville was a ghost town. It was completely deserted, with no sign of life. There were a number of houses, a shop, a warehouse, and a decent amount of green space.

[Pickman37]

During the trip, Lara and Caitlin remained silent but so had Jake. No doubt they were lost in thought like him as well. Jake could not stop wondering whether leaving the ranch and heading for Canada was the right thing. He had always wanted respect as an elder but, since the group meeting in the ranch house, felt that maybe some were afraid to speak their minds...Also, his decision not to follow Tricia was beginning to haunt him...

Upon entering Flaxville and seeing the desolation, Jake could feel his heart sink. He searched for some optimism but found none and could feel despair nipping at his heels. Would Canada be better? Free from this plague? Or maybe the larger center of Plentywood, farther east could offer hope...

He decided to pull the convoy over, giving everyone one last chance to voice an opinion. He signalled to the vehicles behind to stop in the lonely hamlet and got out of the truck...

Besides, he could not remember if he loaded his tools up and he spied the shop nearby. Perhaps after hearing everyone's opinion, he could find some tools to take along, regardless of the direction or choice they made, in case they suffered a breakdown...

OOC-Mr.Handy,Did [b]Jake[/b] bring any mechanic tools along or were any already available in the vehicles?

[Dave Syrinx]

Lara stretches her legs when having climbed out of the truck. She scans the shop fronts for a hardware store as well. Looking for an ad for guns & ammo. The automatic wouldn´t help her much, should they walk into an ambush by either the walkers or the deadheads. She gets a shovel from the back of the bed to use as close quarter defense. "Need some shots. You?", she asks Jake as he looks through the flat bed for tools. "I see you have troubles. It is her, da? "

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
The shop was a small general store. It didn't look big enough to have much of a selection, and there was no guarantee anything useful was left.

Clyde also got out and walked over. "It's not too late, Pa," he said. "We can still go back and contact those people from the chopper. We can approach them from the south, so that we don't have to go too near the compound. We should at least tell them about Tricia. Maybe they'll be able to rescue her."

OOC,There are tools in the back of [b]Caitlin[/b]'s truck. If anyone wants to go into the shop and look around, please roll Luck.

[Pickman37]

Jake checks the back of Caitlin's truck for automotive tools. Relieved, he finds what he needs. While perusing the box, Lara approaches him...

"Need some shots. You?", she asks Jake as he looks through the flat bed for tools. "I see you have troubles. It is her, da? "

He glances up towards her. Her broken English has offered him two queries but it is the second one he responds to.

"I...." Jake stumbles in his response. He is not one to let his feelings be known but he is undecided and weak at the moment. "Maybe we shouldn't have left her. I'm not sure..."

As if on cue, Clyde strides up....

"It's not too late, Pa," he said. "We can still go back and contact those people from the chopper. We can approach them from the south, so that we don't have to go too near the compound. We should at least tell them about Tricia. Maybe they'll be able to rescue her."

Jake ponders for a moment, removing his John Deere hat and wiping the sweat from his brow. His son may have an unhealthy obsession with this woman...

"Fine. Maybe we could go back. It's been a few hours since she's been gone and there's no guarantee that she's even alive or even that this chopper was military. Maybe it was captured by the skinheads. But I guess we should attempt something. We'll see what everyone else thinks..." He looks at Lara and Clyde for any sign of agreement then continues...

"I'm not sure if we need to take the entire group of vehicles though but we'll see what the others think." Jake
was wary of putting Mary or even Veronica in danger but he would wait to get the group's opinion. He turned back to Lara."As for ammo, if I recall you're low. Did you want to check out that hardware store? If so, I can go in with ya..."

[Mr. Handy]

In Flaxville-
Everyone else began to get out of the vehicles and stretch.

"I can take one of the pickup trucks," said Clyde. "That way it can go off-road. Anyone who wants to come with me can do so while everyone else waits here for us to return. The women should all stay behind."

"I could go with," said Sven. "I'm not much good in a fight, though."

"This is crazy," said Veronica. "None of us should be going anywhere near that place."

OOC,It hasn't been that long; it was less than half an hour ago. The shop is also a small general store, not a hardware store, though there may be hardware inside.

[Pickman37]

"Whoa...Alright we know where you stand but let's try to make this as democratic as possible." Jake attempts to placate Veronica. "Now, we know where you stand and where Clyde stands but what do the rest of you think? That chopper may be our chance to reach the outside world...if it is a military chopper. Also, I'm not sure I can rest easy knowing we left that girl..." Jake trails off for a minute and stares at the distant horizon.

"This is everyone's last chance to make a call. We can either carry on north or east or head back and investigate. I personally believe that not all of us need to go back and hiding out in Flaxville may be better than being at the ranch, which is where they think we are. So, if you have anything to say, speak it now..."

Jake waits to hear any other opinions...

[Dave Syrinx]

Lara gets ready to move onwards to the general store, for food and ammunition. "Yes, let´s look." she says and lifts the shovel in preparation. "See what we dig up... That´s how you say it?"

Hearing the argument of heading back to the helicopter sighting or staying at Flaxville, she says. "When returning. We do not enter the compound. We womans stay here. Need to look in store first." Lara walks to the door of the general store and waits for Jake.

____________________________

Failing her Luck-roll.

[SSior.27]

What Lara said makes sense; if the compound was occupied by the same group that they met at the farm, then her best bet was to stay away from it. "Lara, I'll go with you," she called, following the woman. She checked her shotgun more out of paranoia than anything else. With buckshot, it would be good in the close quarters of the shop if they ran into any trouble.