Urban Dead: The Price of the Oath

[Caz]

"Well it's not like you're any more than a cat shuttle," she teased, flinging some of the rubber cement onto his cheek with a haughty grin.

[Pcm979]

"I am too!" He retorted whimsically, collecting the cement on his fingernail and splodging it against the memorial. "See, cat shuttles can't stick stuff on other stuff." He said triumphantly.

[Caz]

She smirked. "Never said you couldn't, love," she teased, poking him in the stomach as she adjusted some of her work. While it looked as though it had just been slapped together, thanks mostly to their lack of appropriate materials, the attention and care Sherry paid to the tiny details of each person's 'section' belied the fact that she looked upon the project with a reverence that few tasks--that pantheon including marksmanship, sex, and winning--achieved.

"Anyone you want to add?" she asked. "We don't have to have a photo."

[Pcm979]

He thought for a second, then shook his head. "No, it's fine. I didn't know many people in Malton that well, and the ones I did might be alive." Except for Dave, but Mike had made his peace about that. There was no point on dwelling.

"It looks good, love." He said, putting his arms over her shoulders from behind and looking at it.

[Caz]

"Well I wasn't thinking about people from before," she said the word as though it were a foreign planet. "But that's fine."

She turned around and gave him a quick kiss.

"Gonna be busy these next few weeks," she said. "First thing after the memorial, I'm going on a recruiting drive. Gil, Reaper, Ellen, Freddy, perhaps that blonde girl that's been helping in the infirmary a bit... Any other potential Irregulars you've seen?"

[Pcm979]

"Well, it depends." He said with a smirk. "The people I see certainly have the Irregular "Get the shit beaten out of you" spirit." He sighed a bit. "On the move again, hmm? That's good, I suppose. You aren't as much of a homebody as I am."

[Caz]

"Only because I never had a reason to go home to anything," she said with a shrug. "But it'll be good to stretch the ole wings. Make sure you haven't turned me completely soft with your canoodling."

[Pcm979]

He chuckled and gave her a kiss. "I don't think there's any danger of that, darlin'. You could still kick my ass any day of the week." He paused, sobering. "Speaking of that, I just had a chat with Petro and I've decided to stay here after all."

[Caz]

"Stay here?" Sherry asked, blinking at him. "Look, I know Petro doesn't want you on the First because what you and I have might conflict things, but if that motherfucker thinks he can keep you off the Second, too, then he can chew fucking rocks..."

[Pcm979]

"No, no." Mike explained hastily. "He wants me to go, but I've been thinking it over. I can do more here. We've just got that satellite relay, and we're finally talking to people outside. People who can do something about the situation, and I'm the best qualified to liase with them." He'd obviously been thinking this through.

[Pcm979]

She considered that for a moment, then said: "Well I'm in no position to tell you what to do." She scratched behind the kitten's ears and sighed a bit. "It's up to you. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

"It's fine." He said optimistically, kissing her again. "We both get to do what we're best at, and I'll keep the bed warm and the kitties fed."

"And I'll come back as often as I can," she said with a nod.

"You do that." He said, nuzzling her. "Everything'll be fine." He said, the sentence fast becoming his mantra.

[Cynical Cat]

Wendigo wandered in the direction that Petro had pointed to. If he was to speak with this "Sherry" then so be it.

The girl had finished working on the memorial and belittling Mike for the moment, and she was chatting up Gil for the moment, the two poised on the stairs. He patted her shoulder and she grinned, offered a swig from her flask. The pudgy man accepted and they chattered, presumedly about his joining the Irregulars.

Wendigo approached with all the subltety of an on rushing train. "Petro said I should speak to you."

They glanced up. Gil raised his eyebrows, Sherry nodded, and he wandered off. "Sure thing," she said, plunking into a sitting position on the stair. From the hood of her sweatshirt, the kitten with the white paw appeared, chewing on her earring as she spoke."I'm assumin' he told you about how I thought you'd be good for my team?"

"Yes," Wendigo replied.

"Well?" she asked. She gestured around to the mall. "What do you think?"

"Nice place. But easy picking once they get inside."

She nodded. "Not our original idea. We never used to stay in one place longer than a few nights, but..." She sighed. "The times, they are a-changin', so to speak. People are having babies and all. So if everyone pitches in, we figure we can get this place to work in a weird neo-Marxist-but-not-really kind of way..." She babbled a few more moments, then cleared her throat. "Ah, well, how about the Irregulars?"

"What do you want me to do?"

She shrugged. "The operation isn't like that. I'm not going to dole out orders like you're some kind of kid. Basically, we take down the smart zeds before they become threats to the mall."

ImperialFeline: "That I can do." He smiled showing teeth that were a little too sharp.

Eirily, his smile was rather akin to her own as she grinned. "You pulled more than your own weight in that factory. I can see why Petro brought you along."

"Most of the other zombies ignore me, except if the leaders tell them otherwise. I know them well."

She nodded. "I was in a similar situation..." she said cryptically, remembering the events with the smart rotter shortly after her induction into the Irregulars."I can't tell you how valuable that'll be to us. Thanks."

"The enemy of my enemy . . . ." he said, his voice trailing off.

She nodded. "And in turn for your help, I'll make sure nobody gives you any shit. You can stay here just like anyone else, and if anyone starts acting nasty, I'll break their face."

He shrugged. Anything short of violence did not worry him and violence was unlikely to favor his enemies.

"We had a bit of a problem with that when Jared came," she said, figuring the two had met. "But people lighten up under the right conditions."

"Nice boy," he replied.

She smiled. "Yeah," she said. "And if he's fond of you, then people will know you're trustworthy. A few bad folks got in a while back and Jared somehow... Well, they all went crazy. And the kid did it. Dunno how."

"With his mind," Wendigo replied. "You know this. You just don't want to admit it."

"I'm fine admitting it," she said, "I just don't know how he does it. And he doesn't either." Wendigo shrugged. Whatever.

And unlike most, Sherry was perfectly fine with that. She grinned toothily, looking at least a bit more normal than on the night of the raid. "I'll let you know when something comes up. I'm not gonna expect you all to wipe each other's asses and shine your shoes. I've seen you fight and that's good enough for me." He nodded.

"Oh," Sherry said, "there is one more thing: I don't think I need to say this to you as much as I do to everyone else because you seem to be a tough, level-headed motherfucker and that's a relief to my brain, let me tell you," she took a breath, "but... Loyalty is important, yes, but I can trust you to do the right thing if it came to one life versus that of the entire mall, yes?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Didn't think I'd have to worry," she said with a satisfied smile.

[Caz]

About a half hour after Melanie and Petro's excursions in his office, she was trotting back to the infirmary for a customary check-up. Gwen was asleep, having been given a good hearty dose of painkillers as the stitches on her side were replaced. Dorian clucked his tongue as he looked down at the girl, then turned to Mel.

"You just can't keep some of you kids still, I swear," he said with a playful glint in his eye. He was, of course, referring to the wound upon Melanie's neck just as much as he was referring to Gwen. The short woman marched up to him and cocked an eyebrow.

"Just remember who you take your orders from, stringbean," she said with a toothy grin.

"Oh, go do something useful, she-Petro," he said.

She huffed and disappeared to do just that.

[Pcm979]

Punt heard the little exchange faintly, and struggled into a sitting position. Just the person he wanted to talk to. The question was, how? He still couldn't speak above a whisper and he was curtained off from the rest of the world.
He cleared his throat and wheezed vaguely.

[Caz]

Melanie didn't hear a thing from Punt, and proceeded to check in on Silver for a few minutes. After ascertaining that his breathing was even, she approached Riley, who was sitting up and reading on one of the unused beds.

"Hiya, Captain," he said with a bright smile, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"What've you got there?" Melanie asked, plopping down beside him.

"Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather," he said. "1800s America/Mexico, story 'bout some missionaries. Interesting shit."

Melanie groaned. "Kid, you're gonna get so far over my head so very soon..."

[Pcm979]

Punt briefly considered throwing something to attract attention, but dismissed the idea almost instantly. She was making her rounds, after all. He just had to be patient, a skill he was quickly developing in the hospital bed.

[Caz]

Melanie arrived in Punt's "room" about fifteen minutes later, having dealt with all of the normal functions. She slipped through the curtain to find him awake, something she was a bit surprised at.

"Hey there," she said with a grin.

[Pcm979]

"Hi, ma'am." He said reedily. "You know," he half-groused, "I can't speak loud 'nuff to get any help."

[Caz]

She sat down upon the bed beside him, smirking. "What?" she asked, "want me to get you a little bell to ring or something?"

Adopting a bit more of a professional demeanor, she then asked: "How's the arm and chest, you old ammo sponge?"

[Pcm979]

"I'm alright." He said vaguely. It was what he invariably said in all situations ranging from actual physical fitness to a sucking chest wound. In this context it probably meant 'getting better, but not quickly enough for me.'

[Caz]

"Anything you'd like while you're resting?" she asked. "Within reason, of course."

[Pcm979]

"Well." He shifted a bit nervously. "I heard there's a thing on. Memorial. I'd like t' be there. If I can."

[Caz]

She'd been looking around the cubicle-like structure, but when he spoke, her eyes fell to him.

"Punt," she said, not without a bit of sympathy, "three days ago, you had a tube sticking out your side. You're hardly well enough..."

[Pcm979]

"Yah, I'm not gonna be up 'n' about for a bit." He admitted. "Not foolin' myself. But it's important. Don't y' have a wheelchair or somethin'? I just wanna be there." He sounded oddly like a kid asking permission to go out for the day. I'll be good, I swear!

[Caz]

She thought for a moment, seemed to weigh the consequences versus the benefits.

"Well," she said quietly, "we do have some chairs... Silver and Gwen used one earlier..."

Glancing down to him, she gave him a quick evaluation. But her conscience still nagged.

"You can hardly talk..."