[ showcase #12 - overture ]

[viridian_knight]

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
--Sara Teasdale - "There Will Come Soft Rains"

[ Action - 1491 Kramden - Late morning ]

[Spending the extra time and money to reinforce the house during renovations had served the Jordan

Comments

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa has finished a similar task across the street. The basement apartment was an instinct that actually worked, this time. She arrives as he finishes the fill-in. ]

Hal. Keep hydrated.

[ She hands him a quart-sized canning jar, half-full of water. Not cold, but potable. ]

Headed out on patrol. I'm going to see if anything useful survived at the hospital. I'll check in when I get back.

[ She's strained, but steady. ]

[viridian_knight]

Thanks. [He tugs down his bandanna and gratefully takes a slow swig from the canning jar, savoring it.]

Take a weapon with you. Lois and I should be heading out soon for recon and some grocery shopping. We should have enough medical supplies in the cellar to last for a while, I raided the firehouse pretty thoroughly during Zombiefest.

Hey. [Have a squeeze.] We got this. [He hopes he sounds more convincing than he feels.]

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa returns the hug, and doesn't mind that he doesn't sound convincing. ]

We got this, yeah. I got stuff in the root cellar, and the laundry was in the basement, too.

[glowing_science]

[Even though she and Hal have never actually spoken before, Ema wanders across the street from the remains of her house to the remains of his. She watches him bury the bodies silently, not wanting to interrupt him until the deed is done.]

They're... drones, right? Those of us with our minds intact somehow survived this...?

[She's pretty sure that's how this has gone down, but as a scientist she knows better than to simply assume without asking.]

[viridian_knight]

That seems to be the case, as far as I can tell.

[He leans on the shovel, mopping at his forehead with a spare rag. Normally this sort of work wouldn't faze him, but the topsoil is baked hard and the air like breathing in a dust storm.] Do you need any help with yours?

[glowing_science]

I don't have drones in my house, but thank you.

[Ema digs into her bag and pulls out a flask of water she's scavenged from somewhere inside of her home. Plumbing is severely damaged, but she was lucky enough to have a bit of running water left in her home.] Here. I'd boil it before drinking it, but you seem to need it more than I do right now.

[Beat.]

I'm Ema, by the way. I wish I'd introduced myself under better circumstances.

Grocer's

[flowers_suck]

[She approaches carefully. She knows what people are like when they're on edge, and she doesn't want a battle, not right now.]

You might be able to find more intact supplies at the bottom of the rubble piles.