IC Inbox

[stand_unshaken]

 

Comments

[stand_unshaken]

"Listen closely and you'll hear me," he says, speaking a little louder for a moment before he hangs up and walks up the stairs. He walks right to her and puts a big, warm hand on the back of her head.

"Come on. Time to go."

[dog_eat_dog]

Her relief is palpable, even if she feels too stressed to say anything to that effect. She just nods tightly, taking in a deep breath.

"Where are we headed?"

[stand_unshaken]

"Not your cabin or mine - spa?"

He never goes there and as such, in his head, it's more or less deserted all the time. Perfect to hide out in a little.

[dog_eat_dog]

"Spa sounds good," she replies. She's barely in there herself, and it's probably one of the last places anyone would check, other than the Brew. "You can get a haircut."

She means it to be teasing, but it comes out a little flat anyway.

[stand_unshaken]

"By you? Thanks, I'll pass."

He puts his arm around her shoulders as they walk. She could use the support, but he also wants to discourage people from talking to them, and two friends who look like they've got something going on are less likely to be bothered.

"Couple minutes more, then you can let go, alright? Just hold on."

[dog_eat_dog]

"I did Joel's hair just fine, thanks," she replies, but she's perfectly fine with settling against his arm, eyes low. She wants to believe it'd take more than a gunshot wound to get the barge mobilized on anything, but who knows?

[stand_unshaken]

"I seen that guy, and I seen what I look like after I visit a real barber," he points out, easily bantering with her to keep her at least somewhat occupied. "I'm gonna leave it to the professionals."

[dog_eat_dog]

"That's fine by me, as long as someone keeps you from looking like you live in a cave," she replies, but she appreciates it. Keeps her from wanting to just run, even if there's really nowhere to run.

[stand_unshaken]

"I did live in a cave before I got here," he points out. "After we chased out the people-eaters."

[dog_eat_dog]

"That is so colossally fucked up," Tess replies. Cannibals. Exactly what she imagines to be living out there, anyway. "You could not pay me enough to live in a cave."

[stand_unshaken]

"Be honest with you, I mostly just slept right outside when it wasn't raining. They kidnapped people and held 'em in cages, gave me the creeps to stay in there even after we cleaned it out."

He takes out his journal when they get to the spa and opens it up, ushering them inside. It is, indeed, blessedly quiet at this hour.

[dog_eat_dog]

She goes in and immediately walks away from Arthur. Space is good. She feels like she needs to pace.

"Yeah, you won't get me to live just outside a cave, either."

She'd told Jake a week back that she planned to go to Arthur's world after all this, and though she questions the decision for an instant, she decides that she'd be able to handle that just fine. A world with cannibals can still be a world without Infected. It's still a step up.

[stand_unshaken]

"Hey," he says, taking a seat on one of the adjustable chairs in front of the hairdresser's mirror. "What happened?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"He just rounded the corner and nearly walked right into me, so I pulled the gun on him," she replies. Impulsive, but par for the course. "He put his hands up but I shot him anyway. All I could think was that he was Infected and at that range I couldn't take the chance."

[dog_eat_dog]

😁

[stand_unshaken]

He nods, fingers tapping on his knees as she explains. "You freaked out? Couldn't think clearly?"

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess grimaces.

“I wasn’t freaking out. Shooting someone who looks infected is perfectly clear thinking.”

Better safe than sorry.

“And even if he said he wasn’t infected before I shot him, everyone hides bites. He could have been lying.”

[stand_unshaken]

"I'm askin', Tess, not judging," he tells her, calmly. "How are you feelin' about it right now?"

[dog_eat_dog]

She has no idea how to answer, and she hesitates on it, her pacing slowing.

“I’m just...” She heaves a sigh, aggravated. Fearful? She can’t remember the last time she admitted to that. “This shit is so fucked up. He’s just going to walk around like that? Two weeks from now he could round another corner and we do this again?”

Somehow it felt easier to be cocky about dealing with infected before she personally got bit.

[stand_unshaken]

"So even knowing he's here, and he ain't infected, you still think you're gonna react the same way. I got that right?"

He doesn't judge her for it, but if they're going to solve this somehow, they need to know how bad it is to begin with.

[dog_eat_dog]

“Maybe, I don’t know,” she replies. “I don’t even know if he’s telling the truth, for all I know he was just talking out his ass about ‘radiation’ to not get shot. They all do that. I hid my bite too.”

Wouldn’t explain how far along he looks while still being able to control his own body, but nothing about this makes sense anyway.

[stand_unshaken]

On Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 6:43 PM dog_eat_dog - DW Comment < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:

[stand_unshaken]

"They can still talk sense when they look like he does?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"Not really, they can just make noise, croaking, that kind of stuff," she replies. "But sometimes early on you can tell they're still aware. I've seen them crying before, or refuse to attack, even if they can't control themselves otherwise..."

She trails off for a second and then redirects herself:

"Maybe there are more people who have some resistance to it, it's just different from person to person."

[stand_unshaken]

"Are you still not completely sure, bein' away from it now, that he's not infected?"