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Post by Generalfoley on May 8, 2011 22:06:56 GMT -7
Joe chuckled. Then he looked over at Mike as he took out a rather new looking map of the Midwest, various red circles and words squiggled upon it. He struggled to take out a pack of cigarettes as he put them on the dashboard. He looked back over his map and took a red marker's cap in his mouth. Pulling up his goggles, he looked around on the map, and smiled... well, as much as he could, with the marker cap in his mouth. He circled the map and labeled it 'Doc's Lab'. He looked over to Mike, a his lopsided grin staying on his face.
"I got our first destination." He pointed at the new circle. "We're goin' to Doc's place. Although, be warned, he is a bit, a bit... eccentric. Just be yourself and you'll be fine. You don't even have to not steal anything. I don't think he'll mind... Just don't touch the acid, though." Joe chuckled as he capped the marker again. "He'd throw it at ya."
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Post by God Mike on May 8, 2011 22:17:00 GMT -7
"I got our first destination." Mike looked down at the map as they passed the gates of New Chicago. "We're goin' to Doc's place. Although, be warned, he is a bit, a bit... eccentric. Just be yourself and you'll be fine. You don't even have to not steal anything. I don't think he'll mind... Just don't touch the acid, though. He'd throw it at ya."
"I'd act like myself even if you told me not to," Mike said with a scoff as he put on his gas mask again. He was starting to feel naked without it. "The last time I tried to suppress my natural insanity, I was very, very, very disappointed, and I slipped into the red zone, giving Erik an opportunity to come out and... er... play..."
He grinned behind his mask as he looked at Joe. "And I know neither of us wants that to happen again." Then, Mike realized what Joe had said and stomped on the break, accidentally smacking his forehead against the wheel from the stop.
"Wait one fucking second!" he exclaimed as he reached over, grabbing Joe's collar and pulling him closer, his eye twitching. "We came here to look for two damsels in distress! We didn't come here to have fun, beat the snot out of cowboys, or go visit any more of your messed up friends!"
This wasn't what Mike signed up for! Letting go of Joe, he shook his head and killed the engine, then got out of the car and started walking off. "You can go visit your friend if you want, but I'm gonna do this traditional Mike style and use my awesome treasure hunting skills to actually look for them! And if I have to, I'm going by foot!"
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Post by Generalfoley on May 9, 2011 0:27:22 GMT -7
Joe rolled his eyes as he opened his door and yelled after Mike, "Doc's our next contact! If he knows where these... Damsels in distress went, it'll be him!" Joe looked over and saw a thunderstorm approaching. Goddammit. Joe shut his door and ran over to the driver's side. It started to rain.
Joe jumped into the driver's seat and slammed his door shut and turned the key. The engine roared to life, and Joe accelerated towards Mike. He started up the window wipers as the rain got worse.
"Shit." Joe turned left, pulling up alongside Mike. "Mike!" He yelled out the window.
"We go to Doc, we know where the girls are! We know where the girls are, we get to go back to doin' what we were doing: Stealing, looting, shooting and boozing!" Joe opened the door.
"Come on, the storm's getting worse and I know you don't wanna be stuck in the rain when that lightning starts striking!"
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Post by God Mike on May 9, 2011 0:39:14 GMT -7
Mike held out a hand, watching as the bandages got wet under the rain. A hot, rainy day. Nothing better, really. Rumbles were heard in the distance, too. Thunderstorm, eh? "Mike!" Grumpily, Mike looked up at Joe, who was driving alongside him.
"We go to Doc, we know where the girls are! We know where the girls are, we get to go back to doin' what we were doing: Stealing, looting, shooting and boozing!" Joe said as he opened the door. "Come on, the storm's getting worse and I know you don't wanna be stuck in the rain when that lightning starts striking!"
Mike shook his head as he walked up to the car and got in, sitting down and closing the door. "You just don't get it, Joe," he said, shaking his head. "You just don't fucking get it. This has now become a dog-eat-dog world. This is a world filled with wondrous adventures, where we make these happen with our own strength, where we risk our lives achieving our goals, where we risk our lives by simply living them."
Mike was speaking passionetly as he took off his gas mask, staring at Joe completely serious. "And how are we spending these glorious days? We go from place to place, asking around for clues when we should be out there, looking for the clues ourselves, with our own eyes and ears. It's not what I set out to do, mate. I live my life by myself, relying only on myself, on the information I gain from my own tracking. I'm one hell of a scavenger, Joe, and I don't need some washed up dude called Doc to tell me something that I can easily find out on my own."
Mike put on his gas mask again and shook his head. "I want the thrill, mate. I want to be able to find these two with my own skills. For now, I'll go along with you, but if this is how we're gonna keep on living, we're splitting up."
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Post by Generalfoley on May 9, 2011 16:17:17 GMT -7
Joe sighed. "Alright, mate," Joe said finally. "We'll do it your way." Joe wore a weary grin at that moment, his eyes tired. The bags under them showed themselves, dark circles under his eyes. He didn't want to lose one of the only friends he had. He had family in Dex and Sam, and an acquaintance in Mozzie and Briggs. But Mike was probably his only real friend he's had since... ever, really. He was a loner in school back in Ireland, and he didn't really talk much to Rocco here in the states. Just took instructions from him for cash.
"You know, I think I missed the days where we just wandered the country side." Joe looked up, thunder booming throughout the cloudy black sky as the rain started to pound harder. Lightning flashed throughout the sky, illuminating the ground to the two.
"Those were the good ol' days. Back when there weren't any 'going to contacts', no 'quests', no alternate personalities, and no new fuckin' zombies to take care of." Joe looked over at Mike. "It was just us, the road, and a shitload of normal undead."
Joe closed his eyes. He could still see that woman, covered in her own blood. "We live in a fucked up new world, Mike. We've lost a lot, and gained even more. And I tried to rebuild the old world." Joe opened his eyes, a frown on his face. "It's gone, Mike. It's all gone. The old world, now just a shadow of this new, anarchic world we live in."
Joe took the packet of cigarettes and pulled one out, sticking it in his mouth. He took the lighter from the panel and lit the cigarette, taking a deep drag. He sighed, smoke flowing out his mouth. He looked over at his friend.
"We'll search for the two your way, mate. Just promise me that if I die... you'll take care of my sister."
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Post by God Mike on May 9, 2011 17:05:10 GMT -7
"We live in a fucked up new world, Mike. We've lost a lot, and gained even more. And I tried to rebuild the old world." Oh? This was a... well, it wasn't exactly a new side of Joe, was it? He'd always been philosophical and such. "It's gone, Mike. It's all gone. The old world, now just a shadow of this new, anarchic world we live in."
"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Mike said with a grin as he started playing with his new butterfly knife. "This world is more suited for people like you and... well, maybe not you, but for me. Back then, I just got into trouble all the time because of the stupidity of humanity, who set up these laws that didn't really do anything. Now, we live by the dog-eat-dog law. Someone kills someone else, or rapes someone else, they don't get a lawyer, no trial or some bullshit like that. They eat a bullet."
Mike leaned back in his seat, watching the rain drops smatter on the windshield. "Yep, these are the days to live in, on the road, Hakuna Matata, guns, bullets, swords wielded freely. The only thing that sucks is that there are hardly and places to get ramen anymore..." He smirked, but the smirk was wiped off his face with Joe's next words.
"We'll search for the two your way, mate. Just promise me that if I die... you'll take care of my sister." Mike whipped his head toward Joe, resulting in a miss with the buterfly, which closed over his index finger, edge down. With a yelp, Mike dropped the knife, and watched as his bandages started to get soaked with blood.
"Excuse me?" Mike asked as he took off his gas mask, cleaning out his ear, before cupping it and leaning closer. "I think I must've had a dick in my ear. What did you just say? A sister? You've never told me you had a sister..."
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Post by Generalfoley on May 9, 2011 17:55:13 GMT -7
"I think I must've had a dick in my ear. What did you just say? A sister? You've never told me you had a sister..."
Joe looked over at Mike before looking back at the road, speeding up.
"Sam. She's my sister." Joe finished with his cigarette and put it out in the ash tray he had put up there.
"We stuck together in the orphanage until Hueng adopted me. After that, I hadn't heard from her since." Joe switched on the headlights, as it was very, very dark.
"Until I came over here, that is. After the outbreak, I had lost hope for her survival. Until I arrived in New Chicago." Joe smiled briefly. "It was a cold night, I had just arrived, back when New Chicago a fraction of what it is now. I came into 'Little Ireland', and saw her working the bar. I think she recognized me first, since she tackled me." Joe chuckled at the memory.
"I found out that she was adopted by Dex back in Ireland and had moved over to Old Chicago back before the outbreak. Raised her in the original 'Little Ireland', and when the outbreak happened, he had shotgunned their way through the city to reach the 'refuge'." Joe sighed as he moved past a burnt-out car.
"After couple of nights working at 'Little Ireland', I had to leave. I told her to stay with Dex, since it wasn't safe with me, and I visit every once in a while, like we just did a half hour before."
"It was two years ago when I found my long lost sister, and she, her long lost brother." Joe looked over at Mike quickly before returning his eyes to the road. "If I die, I need you to take care of her like you would your own sister. Tell her I went out like a badass, too please." Joe chuckled at the last part.
"Can you promise me this?"
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Post by God Mike on May 9, 2011 18:05:11 GMT -7
Mike listened to Joe's tale, contemplating. It must've been nice to have friends in the orphanage. Mike never had friends. He was a little too wild for them, which was basically the reason why he got moved from foster home to foster home.
"Can you promise me this?" So, basically, Joe was asking him to babysit in the even that he died? Only one question arose in Mike's head. How the hell could Joe think that Mike would be a good brother figure? Snorting, Mike crossed his arms.
"What, you want me to tell her you went out like a badass? Hell no. I'll tell her you got eaten on the john, literally caught with your pants down." Mike snickered at his little joke, then reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll promise you this: If you die, I'll drop in from time to time to make sure she's alright."
What the hell was up with Joe's sudden attitude? "You shouldn't talk like that, by the way," Mike chided his friend, shaking his head. "You'll jinx it and die, which would put actual responsibilities on me, and I'm not suited for the big brother role. I'm more the crazy cousin no one talks about."
Mike tapped a finger against his temple. "Especially with Erik hanging around, going ape-shit every once in a while. So if you die, I won't be hanging around your sister too much, for her own safety."
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Post by Generalfoley on May 9, 2011 20:44:19 GMT -7
Joe nodded. "I'll take you checking up on her." Joe sighed.
"Sorry about that, man. It's all the stuff happening these past few months. It's got me thinking about mortality, my mortality to be more specific." Joe reached for another cigarette, but decided against it. He instead tried the radio. No such luck, the stations were static. Not unusual for the weather, but the sound unnerved him, so he turned it off. They drove in silence for a while.
"So..." Joe looked over at Mike. "Where to?"
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Post by God Mike on May 10, 2011 16:22:44 GMT -7
"Sorry about that, man. It's all the stuff happening these past few months. It's got me thinking about mortality, my mortality to be more specific." Mike raised an eyebrow as he looked at Joe, who was fiddling with the radio.
"You know, it's thinking about your own mortality that makes you more prone to injury and gruesome death," Mike said, shrugging. "I mean, in a battle, if you're only focusing on the fact that you could die, chances are that you will be overwhelmed by the zombies, and slowly eaten to death, after which you will be joining the zombie horde, probably after losing an army, your guts, and maybe your tongue."
Mike hummed as they drove in silence after that. He was hungry all of a sudden... "So... Where to?" Reaching into his backpack, Mike took out a Mike's Special Sandwich Deluxe, which was basically just jerky. In fact, it was just jerky...
"My gut is telling me that we should go east-ish. Somewhere in that direction," Mike said as he chewed on his jerky, which, in his mind, sounded kinda gross... "I wonder if we'll get to see any more of those jumpers. I never really got a good look at it last time, what with Erik showing up and all."
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