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[stand_unshaken]

 

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[dog_eat_dog]

“Probably,” she agrees, pausing to look around. Still higher, she guesses, to get up and over. “Nobody around for miles, being able to walk in any direction without hitting a fence or a building or a suburb.”

[stand_unshaken]

He follows her easily, though she likely already knew that he's an experienced hiker.

"I think I'd likely lose my mind within months, if put in a place like that. It ain't in my blood."

[dog_eat_dog]

“Nobody’s meant to live like that, but everyone wants in for a reason,” she replies, gesturing vaguely. “One of my business guys, Bill, he lives out there alone. He’s fucked up. Paranoid. My guys inside the walls at least know they can sleep with both eyes closed.”

[stand_unshaken]

"How smart are they? The, uh, the..."

What's the word, here? Creatures? He isn't sure.

[dog_eat_dog]

"Infected. They're not smart, but they're fast when they're only a couple years gone, and even one can overwhelm you quick."

She flicks the collar of her shirt, over the bite wound. Oops.

"They don't sleep, they don't even really eat. Literally their only drive is to spread."

[stand_unshaken]

"How the hell do they live that long?"

He does not blame her for having been bitten by one of those things. Hell, he doesn't know how he made it to thirty-six, and he lived in a normal world.

[dog_eat_dog]

"It's a fungus. It uses the body the way a mushroom grows on a rotting log. Eventually, when the body breaks down too far to use anymore, it just lets the body drop and it sends off spores. Little bits of itself on the air, hoping some person will walk through and breathe it in."

And there's a little spot that looks like it might be the way back down off the other side, like the map showed. Tess heads off down the incline.

[stand_unshaken]

"So it's the fungus keeping 'em goin', not any living organs?"

God. That's terrifying.

[dog_eat_dog]

"Exactly."

She glances back at him.

"We think there's something left of the person's mind for the first couple days. You can sometimes see 'em trying to resist it, but they were fucked the minute they got bit."

[stand_unshaken]

"How could you cope with that? Knowing about that?"

He, at least, knew he wouldn't lose his mind. And he had months to get used to this idea.

[dog_eat_dog]

"Most people don't," she replies.

At the bottom of the stone ramp, there's just a sheer drop and then a pathway running across the edge. She has the split second reminder of snaking her way through the skyscraper with Joel and Ellie, but she pushes it away.

"Hell, I got myself shot up just to avoid it."

[stand_unshaken]

Arthur makes sure everything he's got on him is strapped on tight - you don't want to worry about a gun falling when you're liable to follow it down. Then, he follows her. He's pretty glad to see how easily she's handling this.

"I guess that much is true. I'd have done the same thing, I'd say."

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess moves a little carelessly. It's not nearly as high as the buildings downtown, even when they were bombed out, and she only glances down to check her footing.

"I bet you would." Most people find a way. It's a particular kind of doom. "But hey, that's why I live in the QZ. Keeps the risk of that mostly to working hours."

[stand_unshaken]

"Think you'll ever go back to livin' there?"

Yeah, he's bringing it up again while on a ledge, what of it!

[dog_eat_dog]

She rolls her eyes with her back turned to him.

"Unless the Admiral lets me tour other QZs to compare first, yeah, it'd have to be Boston," she replies.

She comes to the gap and glances back at him. He's not redirecting her, so she's guessing the only way forward is to jump it. She takes a few steps back again, gauging the distance.

[stand_unshaken]

He nods when she looks back at him - they're likely going the right way, and if they're not, she can figure out how to get them back.

"He might let you. Could ask Iris to take you."

[dog_eat_dog]

"I guess I'll do that, then. Either way, I'm not living out here, even if the infected are gone."

It's not a terrible jump. Looks more sturdy than back home, too; stone is better than testing the floor strength of a building that's been weatherbeaten for twenty years. She paces the distance, backs up again, and then jumps it cleanly.

[stand_unshaken]

He doesn't need to test it, not after seeing that perfect jump, and just follows after her. He isn't a great jumper, but this he can do just fine.

"Why not, even if they're gone?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"Because there's cannibals and hunters out there," she replies.

This feels strange for her to have to explain, but it feels just as strange to consider that other people don't have to worry about that.

"Not your kind of hunter. The kind that hunt people."

[stand_unshaken]

"Fucking Christ, I knew I shouldn't've asked," he grouses. This fucking world. He knows he can't convince her to come with him, eventually, but he sure as hell hopes she will.

[dog_eat_dog]

That gets a little smile, grim as it is. Her fault for walking him into asking.

"See, the city's not so bad," she replies. Look at that, some positive thought. There's a big rock face in their path, though one that looks like it could be climbed over. Tess glances back at him. "Give me a boost."

[stand_unshaken]

He steps up close enough that she can step into his linked hands, trusting she'll give him a hand once she's there.

"I try to imagine myself in that world, at times. It does not end well for me, I don't mind tellin' you."

[dog_eat_dog]

Up she goes, well-practiced, and the moment she has her footing, she crouches down to reach for his hand. Come on up, big guy.

"I think you'd get by just fine, whether you liked it or not," she replies. "And who knows, you like traveling and living outdoors. Maybe you could make it that far north, go up to Canada. You'd still have to deal with hunters and that, but the Infected are slower in the cold."

Positive thinking.

[stand_unshaken]

He gets most of the way, but he's grateful for the hand up. It's always nice to get a little help from someone on trips like this.

"And I'm a quick shot," he points out, with a little grin, as he heaves himself up on the ledge. "Canada. Never been that far North."

[dog_eat_dog]

"Well, hopefully you get to explore up there someday," she replies, getting her other hand on his arm to help him up, and she gives him a fond little pat on the arm before carrying on. "In your own time would be better. I'm sure you'll find your own version of trouble to shoot, anyway."