Alice Munroe (ex_barebones985) wrote in the_colony, @ 2010-08-22 16:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | ^ week 19, alice munroe, andrew kirke, bridget mackenzie, derek miller, jed bailey, thomas galloway, ~ series: raids |
Week 19: Saturday
Characters: Alice, Tom, Bridget, Jed, Drew, and Derek.
Location: The garage / Farmstead
Summary: The raiders get ready to pile out. Derek is pissy because he hasn't had his nap. Tom decides to target Bridget, who doesn't appreciate it. Jed and Drew generally feel awkward. Alice asks herself why she even bothers.
Rating: PG-13 for swearing.
The first two weeks living in the new house had been all about getting familiar with things: the buildings, the land it was on, the nearby natural landmarks. Reestablishing that familiarity took work, and the rapidly cooling weather certainly encouraged everyone to be a bit quick about it. With the first sight of snow their third week, it was time to get serious. There were several projects that needed to be done immediately, and one big thing that needed to be done first: Raiding for more supplies and food.
In that regard, things were familiar. Alice knew who could be depended on for raids, and by then had become very familiar with the mannerisms of the people she’d come to live with. During meals, it wasn’t uncommon for everyone to discuss their thoughts, be it about the day or things they wanted and how they could possibly be procured. Jed had discussed wanting to look around for animals, since they’d been so fortunate to find goats to add to their chickens. By the end of the night, raiding had been brought up again. The snow had been a wake-up call, particularly to Alice when it came to their food sources. While it was true that they’d had the forethought to build a portable garden in the flatbed of one of the trucks and a few containers, it wasn’t enough, and the limited crops they’d managed to get were long gone now. They absolutely needed more food.
The trip to the coast had been much more spontaneous, and while it had certainly provided a nice haul, Alice knew that they needed branch into the area around their Farmhouse. If they were lucky, they’d find untapped resources. If not, at least they’d be more familiar with what was nearby. It helped that Grant’s Pass wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Las Vegas was. They’d driven through the city on their way to the Farmhouse, and the lack of impossibly-high sky scrapers gave the city more of a sleepy feel, but Alice knew better than to let her guard down. Nothing was ever as it seemed anymore. They would get to the downtown area eventually, but in the meantime there were hundreds residential streets to comb through.
On scheduled raiding days, mornings were often much more rigidly structured than the rest of the week. As far as the workload was concerned, and when things needed to be done, everything had happened almost naturally. They worked the moment the sun was in the sky, and they stopped once dusk settled in. If something didn’t get done as fast as it could have been, there was always the next day.
Alice didn’t operate that way when it came to raids. They operated on a schedule and they stuck to it, no exceptions. They needed to be quick, efficient, and alert. Everyone who participated was expected to carry their full weight.
After breakfast was eaten and the cars were packed, everyone gathered around the petite brunette for the pep talk. This too was a familiar routine, though things had definitely changed since their last big raid. Alice felt her confidence weaken, and she spoke with a lot less authority than she once did. Her eyes settled on each person in turn as she spoke.
“Okay guys, you know the drill,” she said, her voice even as she turned her body towards the map they’d pinned to one of the walls of the garage. “We work in pairs, and hit up as many houses as possible on this block. Our main goal here aside from food is medicine, toiletries, and blankets. Secure those first before you grab anything else. Once a house has been checked, mark the door with the spray paint. Anything heavy that can’t be carried by you and your partner, be sure to page over the walkies. If there’s signs of anybody living in any of the houses you get into, we are rolling out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. We don’t wanna draw any attention to ourselves out here, hostiles or otherwise. Instead of a group this lunch this time, we'll break at noon. Keep it 30 minutes or less. Any questions?"
“This isn’t our first time. God, we got it; let’s just go,” Derek griped, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
Tom eyed the younger man in mild irritation. He took a deep breath and let it go before saying anything. “Maybe so, but you do anything enough times and it becomes routine. Going over the plan in advance can help keep you on your toes.”
Alice frowned, eyeing Derek critically. She’d been surprised he’d offered his name at dinner; everyone knew that he had the graveyard shift. Now she wondered why he offered it at all, with the attitude he was dishing out. “If you’re feeling tired, Derek, stay behind. You’re gonna end up fallin’ asleep on your feet.”
“I’m fine,” Derek snapped. “I’m here aren’t I?”
Bridget reached over and put a hand on his arm. “Nobody’s doubting your ability, Derek. You do a lot around here, especially handling guard duty in the middle of the night.”
“He ain’t five, he knows what he can take,” Jed said firmly, checking his shotgun chamber one last time. “Let’s go. We’re wastin’ daylight.”
It took all of Alice’s effort not to reach over and punch Jed in the shoulder for undermining her. Derek was deliberately being petulant, and given his history she knew he would be a rabblerouser.
“He’s had four hours of sleep after pulling a goddamn graveyard shift,” Alice said sharply. For a moment she deeply considered ordering him to go inside, but instead turned her gaze to the other raiders. “Those who think Derek should stay behind, raise your hand.”
Drew watched the scene transpire with a wary expression. He knew Derek only a little more than everyone else given their time over the radio back in Vegas, but even he knew Derek had a short fuse. He had been inwardly debating on whether or not to switch partners with Bridget so that Jed and her worked together while he and Derek went on, but Alice had already gotten the words out before he could. Somewhat guiltily, he raised his hand along with the others.
Derek gave Drew a look that could cut glass and then turned the expression on Alice. “Oh, mature. Gonna kick me off the dodgeball team, too?”
Tom hadn’t raised his hand, but only because he was watching Derek intently. “You think you can handle it Derek? Gonna be a long day. I know I never liked going on long patrols on little sleep if I could help it, and this is more intensive than that.” A glance over at Bridget, noticeably toward her distended abdomen. “Bridget, maybe it’d be a good idea if you stayed behind. It’s going to tire us all out by sundown, and you’re carrying precious cargo.”
Bridget rolled her eyes at the man, clearly offended. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid. I’ve got plenty of energy, don’t worry about me. If Derek doesn’t want to go, how about Holly? He’s been wanting to go on a raid for weeks.”
“And this is why,” Alice said almost pointedly in Derek’s direction. “We have meetings before we go.”
“Fuck you,” Derek answered back in the same tone. “Sorry I went out of my way to help. You want pregnant ladies and drag queens, knock yourselves out. I don’t give a shit.” He handed the radio he was carrying over to Bridget and stalked back to the house.
“Jesus Christ.” Tom shook his head in disgust. “How the hell did he live long enough to join us with an attitude like that?” Derek always got under his skin, and he tried to give the man a benefit of a doubt because of it, but sometimes it just defied such things.
He also thought Bridget ought to stay behind as well, but he had no power beyond the bully pulpit to get her to do so. If the others weren’t going to speak up there wasn’t much he could do to get her to stay.
“Go tell Holly to get his ass out here!” Alice shouted after Derek, scowling. She ran a hand over her face and shook her head. “It is way too early in the morning for this shit.” She was just glad that she was partnered with Tom today, or she probably would’ve systematically chewed each other raider’s head off.