Leigh Tharp knows we're all going to DIE. (doomsdame) wrote in invol_rpg, @ 2013-06-19 22:35:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ! log, jimmy boudreaux, leigh tharp |
WHO: Leigh Tharp and Jimmy Boudreaux
WHAT: After talking with her dad, Leigh starts preparing for the worst...with Jimmy’s help
WHEN: Backdated to Saturday
WHERE: Near the Condor Ravine
WARNINGS: none
STATUS: complete
“IVI is going to think I’m crazy by the end of this.” Leigh stuck out her lower lip and blew her hair away from her eyes. She was wearing an IVI backpack she’d purchased from the c-store. It was bright blue and lacked the extra pockets and cushioning her favorite backpack had, but it didn’t matter. A bug-out bag was a bug-out bag and as long as it could hold three days worth of supplies without splitting at the seams, it served its purpose. She shifted slightly under its weight and squinted around, looking for a decent place to drop it. “I don’t know, though, Jimmy,” she continued. “My dad usually has a good feel for situations like these. Like, if it’s not Vols Rising that’s going to cause us problems, it’s going to be some country pissed off about the protective custody resolution. Countries, even. And now that they’ve cut off our contact with home and increased our training, I can’t help but think it’s kind of a sign.” A couple of weeks ago he might have agreed with her. Though he probably wouldn’t have called her crazy. He would have just figured it was one of Leigh’s ‘eccentricities’ as his Aunt Lulu would have put it. But now, with classes cancelled and all outside communication gone, he wasn’t sure so that she wasn’t right. “Crazy’s a’ight if it means we’re prepared and whatnot,” he said with a nod. “Though this weren’t zackly what I had in mind when ya said ya had somethin’ fer us to do.” He glanced over and grinned. “Any idears on where to go?” he asked, adjusting his matching IVI backpack. “Condor ravine? Or that canyon mebbe?” All he knew was that if all hell broke loose like Leigh’s dad seemed to think, he’d get as far away from the buildings as he could. She snorted. “At least it doesn’t involve either of us having to kick out our roommates.” She was glad Jimmy wasn’t fazed by her request, and considering how much time he spent outdoors, she knew his input would be helpful, too. “The ravine would be good. Let’s go there next. We’ll drop your backpack there. And somewhere close to the force field on the east side. There’s another lake there -- a big one. It’d be better to go that way then to go west into the desert. For survival purposes.” “Hey,” he said, holding up his hands. “Davi goes all by hisself. Ain’t gotta kick him out.” At least not since his roommate had started hanging out with Enver. Although he did make sure to slip Davi a drink ticket now and then. As they made their way to the ravine, he thought about what had happened the last couple of days. “Reckon yer dad could be right bout what’s gonna happen, but...ain’t sure that any country gonna make too big a’ stink bout us. Mean, Petr’s country backed out and lef’ ‘im here. But Vol Risin’...well, they was in Australia fer a reason, I reckon. Coulda released that serum anywheres rilly. But they did it here.” “Guys are more sympathetic to each other’s causes, I think,” Leigh mused. “And if you want, you can tell him about the bug-out bags.” She planned on telling a few select people. She knew her own adaptations could get her further than some of the supplies in the backpacks, but that didn’t mean that first aid and emergency supplies wouldn’t be useful to other people. Besides, her personal bug out bag was in her room and filled with the best stuff she had. “They have maps in them. He could follow that.” She wasn’t ready to dismiss the idea of a country taking action merely because the Czech Republic stepped down. “One country,” she reminded him. “With one Vol.” And maybe it was because Montana was known for its militias and support of firearm rights and the fact that a lot of its citizens were suspicious of the government intentions, but she didn’t think IVI would be successful in shutting everyone out forever. “Yeah. Well, if they release the serum here, the staff and soldiers are going to be the ones with problems.” Leigh’s voice turned dark as she remembered the room full of dead bodies. “Dad told me to get access to a weapon. A gun. I’m not sure how I can do that, though. Unless everything’s already gone to pieces.” “Prolly more to do wit’ Enver and the fact he ain’t gotta roommate than anythin’ else,” he replied with a shake of his head and a half smile. “Will tell ‘im bout the bags. Though more’n likely I’d take ‘im wit’ me.” He wasn’t sure if Davi would be able to survive on his own; he was a city fella after all. It weren’t like other countries was making a big to do over them. And the U.S. voted to turn them over to protective custody after all. But maybe if enough people made noise, things would change. Least he could hope so. “Meant here in Australia. Prolly to show they could do it here if they wanted to.” When she continued, he stopped abruptly. “Ain’t no way ya cain get a gun. Not wit’out gettin’ in a shit ton a’ trouble. Solitary ain’t no fun. Trus’ me on that.” “I know what you meant,” replied Leigh. Jimmy wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t know, having been in Melbourne. A lot of IVI students had speculated the same thing on the school’s network, too. “I just don’t think it’s the end of their time in Australia, is all. La Trobe doesn’t have a force field, but it was a school with students our age.” It had similar lecture halls and classrooms, too. “The security level isn’t the same, but since the serum proved to be successful - for their purposes, anyway - if this force field is somehow deteriorated, security won’t really matter.” She didn’t think IVI had thousands of soldiers at its disposal, even, so the odds were not in their favor. She took a few more steps even after Jimmy had skidded to a stop, looking back to give him a curious look. “I just said I didn’t think it was possible unless there was already a campus emergency,” she reminded him. “I’m not going to go steal one and hide it under my mattress.” Sometimes Jimmy’s reactions made her wonder if he considered her a naive idiot. “I am fitting the armory into my escape route, though.” She gave him a pointed look, challenging him to say something. "Akshally ya said that ya didn’t know how ya could do it. Like ya was thinkin’ bout it. If anybody here could get a gun and stash it someplace, reckon it’d be ya.” He didn’t entirely mean it as a compliment either. He’d spent way too much time thinking bout how she’d ran after one of them Vol Rising people without a way of protecting herself. He started moving again and nodded as he caught up to her. “And that’s prolly a good idear. If things does go to hell, best to be equipped. Specially if we cain’t go east. Out in the desert, gun and whatnot be useful for catching food too.” He knew that there’d be rabbits, echidnas, and some lizards out there. Now she leveled another look at him. She knew what she’d said. She had considered it enough to know that it wasn’t possible unless there was a campus emergency, which had been precisely what she’d said. But apparently photosynthesis granted Jimmy the power of really crappy mind reading. “Whatever, Jimmy,” she said briskly. She wasn’t going to argue with him about her own thoughts and whether or not he could interpret them correctly. “I’m not risking my own security so that I can maybe shoot someone if I have to.” She felt a little better talking about survival tactics, and nodded, relaxing. “Yeah. And Jace gave me some great books on edible plants and herbs. I made photocopies of several relevant pages and tucked them in the bug out bags. Maybe I should check out some tips on trapping from a library book. And if you could write out a page on fishing to add, that would be really useful to people, too.” "Thank God," he muttered under his breath when she repeated that she wasn't gonna try to get a gun. He furrowed his brow. "Reckon they'd prolly a book on fishing with lotsa good..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head at himself. "Yeah I cain do that. Even make copies a' it fer ya," he agreed with a grin. Leigh stifled a small snort at Jimmy’s muttering, torn between irritation and amusement. When he agreed to write up something for the bags, she grabbed his arm and gave him a squeeze. “Thanks.” They arrived at the ravine and Jimmy glanced around. "Any place in pa'ticular?" It needed to be accessible enough to find in an emergency, but not so obvious that just anyone would stumble across it. "Mebbe we shoulda brought a shovel? To bury it?" He paused. "Less ya a'ready got one in here?" Part of him wouldn't be surprised if she did. “No,” Leigh sighed. “A collapsible shovel would be a useful tool to have, though.” She joined Jimmy in scanning the landscape, looking for a spot that would not be too difficult to pinpoint in haste, but not obvious enough that any old person would pick up the bag. “Is there like...a ledge or a crevice we can shove it into?” she asked. “Preferably one sans snakes and spiders, just in case.” “Ain’t seen one a’ ‘em in the c-store as of yet,” he replied with a grin. “Mebbe we oughta make a request.” He narrowed his eyes at a spot half-way up the ravine on the other side. It was a small ledge. They could probably pile some rocks around it. “How ‘bout that?” he said, pointing it out to Leigh. “And ya cain put yer hand in firs’. Case a’ critters.” When she looked at him, he flashed another grin. “Ain’t got time fer a visit to the infirmary today.” “They would probably just think we’re trying to dig our way out of the force field or something.” Although if that were possible, the younger boy who burrowed would probably have achieved it by now. And keeping in mind how many emergency necessities were considered contraband, Leigh found it unlikely that the c-store would start stocking shovels and gerbers just because they requested them. “That could work,” Leigh mused, surveying the ledge. “And I was thinking I could use a stick or something. Just because I can adapt doesn’t mean I want to.” Who knew how she’d adapt to a spider bite; she could be the next Peter Parker. “However, I appreciate the fact that you don’t want to go to the infirmary. That’s thoughtful of you.” A smile twitched at the corners of her lips and her eyes turned a little sly. “So how are we getting over there? Climbing down and then up? Or should I make a jump for it?” While he was glad to hear that she didn’t want to adapt to some sorta critter bite, it didn’t last long. Jimmy narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a long moment. “Prefer to climb down and up. But reckon ya gonna do what ya wanna do. May as well let ya decide.” His eyes went up and down her. “Ya is tiny. S’pose I could carry ya back to the infirmary if I gotta.” He managed a half-smile with this last part. Climbing down and up would take a long time, and Leigh wasn’t convinced it was any less dangerous than jumping, but the gap between both sides of the ravine was wide. Unless she could somehow develop the power to fly, even a superpowered jump might not make it. She stepped toward the edge and looked down to see if the side they were on jutted out anywhere. “If I can make a jump from somewhere lower down, I will,” she said. “It’ll save us time.” She took a few steps and then looked back to Jimmy. “Besides, I’d probably heal before you got me halfway to the infirmary.” She grinned a little crookedly. “Have a little faith, Jimmy. You don’t want to be out here until dinner time, do you?” “‘m a’ight wit’ not testin’ yer theory bout healin’ if it’s all the same to ya,” he responded, making a face. He did, however, follow her down the ravine, boots slipping a time or two, but managing to find his balance. “‘s great that ya got faith in yerself, in yer power. Rilly it is,” he said slowly, trying to choose his words. “But...I worry sometimes is all.” He paused and looked over to gauge her reaction. Then he decided that his counselor would tell him he were entitled to his feelings, no matter what they were. “Ain’t gonna lie. Scared at the shit outta me when ya tol’ me ya went runnin’ toward that VR fella. And I know ya was fine. But...” He didn’t get to finish his thought because he stumbled on a loose rock. Leigh was pausing to turn and talk to him, but the percussive rattle of rocks against stone caused her to whip around quickly, bag brushing against the cliff face. Unlike Jimmy, she was having very little trouble with the descent, though that was due less to natural talent than the fact that she was adapting to the task. She already had a small frame going for her, but if she came out of the ravine looking like a mountain goat in the end, she wouldn’t be surprised. “You okay?” she asked, reaching out to grab him as he skidded into her. She wobbled as she tried to establish a center of gravity between them, one hand around his arm, the other clutching the strap of his backpack. “This trail is narrow, I know.” And Jimmy had longer limbs, which made gracefulness more difficult. Without waiting for a response, she started in on what she was going to say before, still holding on to him. “I get that you’re worried.” Her eyes widened with earnesty as she spoke. “I do, and I don’t plan on doing wildly reckless things for the hell of it, Jimmy, but I do want to know the extent of what I can do.” She knew he’d understand that, even begrudgingly, considering all his power experimentation. “I’ll never know that unless I put myself in situations where I’ll adapt, right? And that doesn’t mean I’m going to like, volunteer to be a moving target while Zelda practices with live ammo, or wrestle a gator, or like, let people inject me with diseases to see how my cells adapt.” She gave him a light squeeze before releasing him. “But I am going to take risks sometimes. And for the record, I don’t think I’d have run towards that guy so quickly if Caleb hadn’t already tackled him. And if I ever meet him again, I definitely won’t.” He was pretty sure that they’d be making a trip to the infirmary. Only Leigh would probably be carrying his ass back to campus. His arms flailed as he slid; all he could do was hope that he wouldn’t go head first down the ravine. Luckily, she managed to keep both of them on their feet. Before he could thank her, she plowed ahead, still holding onto him. He frowned slightly when she mentioned wrestling gators and being injected but held his tongue. “Reckon that’s something,” he said, readjusting his pack so it sat square on his shoulders. “And I know ya gotta see what ya cain do. Don’ mean I ain’t still gonna worry though.” He shrugged. “Yer pretty dang ‘portant to me, ya know. Though...” Pausing, he looked down at the rest of the ravine and then toward the other side. With a sly grin, he finished, “May jus’ let ya climb up by yerself on th’other side though.” “I’ll let you worry,” Leigh promised. “I just don’t want to feel like I have to hide what I’m doing from you.” She doubted she’d do that anyway; it wasn’t her style. “You’re important to me, too.” She took a moment to fix her ponytail before giving the trail down to the bottom of the ravine a long look. “You are at least coming with me to the bottom,” she told him. “I’ll go up the other side to the ledge, but I’ll need something to cushion my fall in case something happens.” She gave him a wink. “Something that’s not a cactus or prickly underbrush.” |