Survivalist Plot: All That Scarcity Promotes is Desperate Men and Tyrants

[meat_mooks]

Day 3 and 4

The remaining hours of the night are tense and ugly, marred by the smell of blood and the complete distrust sewn by Bridge's death. When the sun finally rises, it feels as if the night's been far too long and yet their chance to rest was cruelly short.

The sun peeks over the horizon and onto the parched desert. In the bright sky, if one squints, it's possible to make out that lights are still flashing on the radio tower. The rest of the town is dead, as usual.

Comments

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Works for me. And I know how to drive. Kind of." Those are the most encouraging words. Howard's driving knowledge is entirely self-taught. How scary is that?

He points a finger at Cedric's expression, that worry Cedric can't possibly keep under wraps. "Don't make that worried face at me, it freaks me out. I'm okay. I probably just caught a really badly-timed flu."

[theboywhodied]

"Right," Cedric flattened his expression into an apologetic one, moving everything needed out toward the next car---if they could find one that worked. He always kept the tower in mind, though he looked in all directions for signs of monsters.

"What are the odds that we'll crash?"

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

"Very high." Is he joking or isn't he? Up to you to decide, Cedric.

Most of these cars are outdated from the ones Howard knows, so it takes a few to find one he can hotwire. There aren't any bodies on this street, so he can't scavenge off any for car keys. Finally, he settles in front of a Chevy and, picking up a large rock, tries to smash the driver's window in.

It doesn't work. The rock bounces off and Howard doubles over, having pushed his injured body a little too far on that forceful motion. "Dammit!"

It's beginning to really sink in how much he and Cedric are going to have to work as a team now. He's deteriorating quickly but he still has his wits about him, that knife-sharp survival instinct. Cedric has all the capability, though.

[theboywhodied]

Cedric rushes to Howard's side, offering a hand whenever he's ready to stand up. "Okay. Don't worry, I'll try something bigger."

He searches for a bigger rock, one that'll pick up some nice speed as it's thrown, and steps back. "...On second thought, you may wan to duck."

That said, he lobs it as hard as he can.

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

For a moment Howard considers refusing Cedric's hand, but as he was thinking - teamwork. He takes it and hopes Cedric doesn't notice how shaky he is. Then he steps back and watches Cedric bust the car window open.

Once that's done, he hops into the driver's seat and reaches into the space of car under the steering wheel. It takes about twenty minutes, and even with Cedric on watch Howard's paranoid that they're about to be attacked, but finally he gets the engine running.

"Hop on in, man. Let's get the hell out of here."

/wrap

[theboywhodied]

"Hopping." With one last quick check that they have the important things, he shuts the door and sends up a quiet prayer that they make it. He's not sure whether to watch Howard's driving in case he needs to learn and take over, or if he should watch out the window for threats.

It ends up being a little of both. He settles in for the uneasy ride, hoping that maybe they have a chance.