Voodoo - Charm City
Apr. 25th, 2015 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
It's a long bit of walking from Philadelphia to DC, but Voodoo and his people have a few advantages in that regard. One is that Ellen's provided them with a map of the route she took, including landmarks along the way. Another is that, while it's a good distance, it's nowhere near as long as the trip from Canada or New York to Philly. Perspective can be key.
The route on the map doesn't go anywhere near I-95 for most of its length, though. And there's a thickly drawn band around a not inconsiderable piece of territory- most of which is inside the curve of what used to be Interstate 695.
The route on the map doesn't go anywhere near I-95 for most of its length, though. And there's a thickly drawn band around a not inconsiderable piece of territory- most of which is inside the curve of what used to be Interstate 695.
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Date: 2015-04-26 01:46 am (UTC)"We're on-track. We move quickly and we'll be in D.C. by sundown."
("A group of Outcasts less inclined towards reconciliation, or even peace, was reported setting out from the Capital region-")
"You see someone, don't shoot 'less they do. 'specially if they're wearing power armor."
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Date: 2015-04-26 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-26 01:57 am (UTC)He tucks the map back into his pack and adjusts his carbine's sling. "Still. I ain't come this far to die or waste ammunition we don't gotta. We get in any trouble, we try talking our way out first. I'm on point."
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Date: 2015-04-26 02:07 am (UTC)There's a chemical sting on the wind out of the southeast, something foul and off without the organic elements it'd need to convey a sense of rot. If a paint factory could go rancid, maybe, the result would be something like that smell. When it's not blowing on the wind, though, the air is still and quiet, unstirred by sound or smoke.
A comment might be made about the state of the Baltimore skyline in the distance, but that would have required Baltimore to have ever had a skyline worth mentioning in the first place. Which... sorry, no.
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Date: 2015-04-26 02:14 am (UTC)(Something something We Don't Go To Baltimore, am I right?)"There it is. We're closer to D.C. by the minute."
Voodoo can live with the quiet. The smell, too. Usually too much of the former means something's kooky, but if someone's watching them, he can't see them, and he wouldn't set an ambush on this road - there's not enough cover to be had, and the sightlines along the road are too long.
With a few gestures to the rest of them to maintain their spacing, he continues on.
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Date: 2015-04-26 02:32 am (UTC)At least, that's what the brown-clad figure down the road, leaning against the corroded remains of half a highway signpost, seems to be doing.
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Date: 2015-04-26 02:39 am (UTC)"Hey there. You local?"
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Date: 2015-04-26 02:46 am (UTC)It's not a question. It might as well be written on the travelers' faces, after all.
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Date: 2015-04-26 03:20 am (UTC)A good portion of former Baltimore should be visible from here, except that it's not. Instead, what remains of it can be charitably described as "ruins" and un-charitably described as "if the Elbonians from Dilbert had their interminable brownish muck replaced with a mélange of a city's worth of highly toxic and radioactive compounds". Entire sections of the city are gone, not even their foundations left standing, and the rest looks like - well, like a couple dozen nukes hit it.
Voodoo surveys the scene, and lets out a long, low whistle.
"No wonder people ain't talking about this place. War do that?"
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From:Later
Date: 2015-04-27 01:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-27 02:32 am (UTC)"We'll set an observation post in the tower. I'll take first watch."
With a gentle push, the front door creaks open, and Voodoo steps inside. The interior is rounded, and centered around a platform where there is an organ and a pulpit. The pulpit has been hacked away for firewood, and the organ has suffered the decay of centuries of nonmaintenance.
"Start checkin' rooms," he says, every step light as he moves along the wall toward a door close by.
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Date: 2015-04-27 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-27 03:03 am (UTC)Not that he doesn't have NVGs, but it's best to conserve the batteries on those.
The rooms are unlocked, and a cursory search reveals nothing but modest traces of former habitation. A desk in one room is littered with box tops torn off Sugar Bomb, but there's nothing of value in the desks themselves.
"Ain't nobody living here," Voodoo says, walking back out what looks to be the preacher's office. "Not for the long-term, anyway. We would've smelled it, otherwise. How's that generator coming, Al?"
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Date: 2015-04-27 03:06 am (UTC)There's a few sputtering, unhappy noises, and then the lights flicker on. They're not great, but they're enough to see and navigate by, and they're probably enough to keep things that live in small dark spaces from coming out to investigate newcomers.
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Date: 2015-04-27 03:16 am (UTC)He checks his watch, synched to this world's time with Ellen's help just before he left Philly. "Got two more hours of daylight left. Good time to clean your weapons, eat, sleep, whatever you want. Not planning on quittin' this place until first light tomorrow."
He looks around, nodding as he appraises the structure.
"Church's bulletproof. Only way for a noiseless entry is through the roof - the doors creak too damn much. All goes well, it'll be a quiet night."
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Date: 2015-04-27 03:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-27 03:32 am (UTC)He looks at each of them in turn and nods, starting up the stairs to the belltower.
"Holler if you need anything."
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From:The Morning After
Date: 2015-04-29 04:40 am (UTC)He'd be lying if he said he wasn't itching to head in the direction of last night's firefight. But as they say, curiosity killed the cat - best not to stick his nose into it unless the opportunity presents itself.
-speaking of, there's a familiar figure just up the road.
"Omar? That you?"
Re: The Morning After
Date: 2015-04-29 04:45 am (UTC)"Mornin', brah," he says amiably. "You all right this mornin'? It gets noisy around here some nights."
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Date: 2015-04-29 04:55 am (UTC)A beat, as he tucks his hands into his pockets.
"-smart of you, usin' us to lure Russell out of hiding."
He might not have a complete picture of what's been going down in this town, but sometimes all it takes to fill in the gaps is a little thinking.
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Date: 2015-04-29 05:00 am (UTC)Hey, when a man makes a leap of logic, you owe it to him to let him know he did in fact stick the landing.
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Date: 2015-04-29 05:07 am (UTC)Another nod.
"All in the game, huh?"
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Date: 2015-04-29 05:09 am (UTC)"All in the game. Still headed for DC?"
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Date: 2015-04-29 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-04-29 05:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
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