One Zombie; Video, Action for New Bark Town

[thisonetime_withkeith]

[For a moment, you can hear the confused murmurs of a guy trying to figure out what the heck this thing in his hands is. With a few choice curse words and some shaking the device, the feed flicks on and you get an up close of his face and his eye.]

Well there we go! Ain't this technelogical. Okay then. Holy shit! Any ah y'all out there? Ro? Nick? Coach? You ain't never gonna believe what happened! I got...

Wait for it...

[He splits into a grin and a laugh escapes.]

A Pokemon! Look! [He points the gear down towards the ground to reveal a red pig looking Pokemon.] I ain't sure if it's a girl or a boy, but either way I decided to name it Suee. I ever tell you guys about the time me and my buddy Keith went pig wrastlin'? Now, Keith thought he was big and bad enough to take on a whole pen full'a the bastards, but it turns out pigs are a lot stronger than he gave 'em credit for. He was-

[It's about that time that Suee sneezes and a puff of black smoke comes out, cutting Ellis off as he begins coughing and sputtering.]

Shit- Aha, anyway... Did you know 'pparently I'm supposed to breed these things? Got a breeders handbook 'n everything. That sure is weird, but I ain't complainin'! I am gonna breed the best goddamn suckers you ever did see, just you wait! Hehe...

And y'know what? Now that I think about it- I been too busy takin' all this in to actually think about it 'til now, but- I ain't seen a single zombie since gettin' here! S'that mean there ain't none here? Am I finally safe for once? Man if so, you guys need'a get your asses here pronto! You guys can see this right?

Niiiick? You out there man? Rochelle? Coach?! I ain't talkin' to myself am I?

Comments

[Video]

[willrememberthis]

[Clementine's interest in this broadcast was originally simply enjoying the sight and sound of this happy, friendly-sounding newcomer's apparent unusual excitement over being here. But that last bit - and on top of it that accent...]

Did you say that there are zombies where you're from...?

[Video]

[thisonetime_withkeith]

[Well hello! It's been a while since he's seen any kids around- for obvious and depressing reasons. They either... all got zombified, or they were rescued. She sure is a sight for sore eyes in that it's real nice to see a kid again after so long. It makes him smile.]

Howdy! Ya sure did hear that. They're all over the place! Can't walk a foot without hittin' one, honestly.

[Video]

[willrememberthis]

[Oh, she can understand that. Still, don't mind her for looking more than anything... a bit rapt.]

Where are you from?

[Beat.] I'm from Georgia.

[Video]

[thisonetime_withkeith]

[Whoooa! She's just full of surprises. Holy shit.]

Really? So'm I! Savannah, to be specific. How wild is that! We're like Georgia buddies!

[Video]

[willrememberthis]

["Georgia buddies" - that does actually get a little smile out of her, but she's only half-conscious of it - he could be from the same world, after all! Maybe he'd seen Omid or Christa or maybe even Molly before coming here, or knew any one of the people she'd met over those last four months back in her world - in spite of herself her voice is dipping into a whisper as if the possibility of sharing a reality is akin to sharing a secret in a place like this.]

I was just in Savannah. [Or - not actually "just".] ...Before I came here. ...Two months ago.

There aren't any - "zombies" here. [Now she's actually consciously smiling - she hadn't mentioned that her Georgia had also been swarming with walkers...] ...It's good being somewhere without them again.

Though I wish that my friends could be here instead with me, too.

[Video]

[thisonetime_withkeith]

[That smile makes him happy- he always loves making people smile, especially kids. His face lights up when she mentions Savannah, too, because wow! What're the chances?

And then she mentions that there are no zombies here, and he isn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, that's pretty good! It is nice to be somewhere safe. On the other, though, man the zombie apocalypse was fun. Don't get him wrong, it isn't that he enjoyed all the death and sadness and shit, but... Well, he did rather enjoy teaming up with the others and killing them. It was just... fun.

Then again, Pokemon could be fun, too. It was like a totally different, yet still just as awesome challenge. ]

Aww, man. That really sucks that your friends ain't here. But... hey! We're both in the same boat. And we can make new friends. In fact, I'd say I already made one just now. And that's excitin'! My name's Ellis. What about you?

[Video]

[willrememberthis]

[Ahh, how can anyone help but honestly perk up at this?]

Clementine. It's nice to meet you!

[And she concurs - she wouldn't argue against that she's making a new friend, or that it's exciting, and it's just a little different from anyone she has before because this is the very first time she's aware that chance has brought someone else from an America overrun with walkers to Johto. And those thoughts and the desire to take this introduction for what it is are certainly starting to cover the notions regarding what he could maybe-just-maybe know for now.]

...What are your friends from back there like? Maybe I can let you know if I ever see one of them. Or hear about one of them.

[Video]

[thisonetime_withkeith]

It's nice t'meet you too, Clementine! That sure is a nice name you got there.

[Again, his face lights up when she asks about his friends. Boy, he sure does miss them, but he's excited to talk about them.]

Well! You got Nick, who acts kinda like a big ol' butt, but I think he's a real softie on the inside... Probably, anyway. He wears a real expensive suit that's all white- well, used to be white. It's kinda brown now from dirt and stuff. Then you got Rochelle, she's a real cool girl. Really knows how to shoot! She wears this pink De... Uh... Depe... Some kinda band shirt, I dunno how to say it. And then there's Coach! I... dunno his real name. Or maybe Coach is his real name... I dunno! He's a big kinda guy, ain't got no hair, but he's nice. Kinda like a big ol' teddy bear grandpa.

What about you? Ya got any friends from home? I could keep an eye out for 'em too!

[Video]

[willrememberthis]

Thanks!

[And oh how upliftingly obvious it is that he's happy to talk about his friends - when he asks the question back, it's been so long after she was told specifically to look for Omid and Christa that she grabs and pulls in every memory that comes easily of someone who's still alive.]

I do. They're all grown up, like you... There's Omid and Christa, who're boyfriend and girlfriend... Christa is taller than Omid. And more serious. She was wearing a purple and white jacket, and she ties her hair back in a knot. Omid has a brown sweatshirt. [She pauses, wondering about the validity of the next bit...] And the last time I saw him, his leg was hurt and bandaged.

There's Molly, who has blonde hair that's short and an orange sweater with a hood. She's... like an acrobat. [Surely there's a better word to call her, but she isn't sure what it would be.] She used to get through the city without getting caught by them by climbing and jumping on the buildings, and things like that.

And - [A little flicker in her face of some vague kind.] - Lilly... who's tall with long brown hair and brown eyes. And she's very tough. ...She's the kind of person who tries to get mad, instead, when she's worried. Some of us got scared of her sometimes, but she just wanted to be sure everyone was safe... [Even Clem had been scared of her under the circumstances in which she'd last seen her. But at that time she had yet seemed so uncharacteristically, plainly sad, confused - what else could she have been but desperate to be the good leader she'd wanted to prove she could be?

She nudges herself into brightening up again.] You know your friends are probably okay, huh?

[Video]

[thisonetime_withkeith]

[Ellis listens to everything Clementine says with obvious interest, a small on his face the entire time. It's great to hear about all these people- man it sure has been a while since he's met anyone other than Nick, Rochelle and Coach. Well, there was Zoey, Francis and Louis briefly, but hearing about more people? It was refreshing. Hell, just being around people now was refreshing. He was really starting to like it, and starting to like Clementine too! She was such a sweetie in his opinion.]

Man all those guys sound like real cool people! I'll definitely be on the lookout for 'em if I can, you can bet on that.

[He gives a nod at that, looking thoughtful for a moment.]

Yeah... Yeah, you're right! They're real tough people, I don't think a few zombies are gonna bring 'em down. Just like your friends! Naw, they'll be alright, it's true.