Room 508, Tuesday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was hunched over her computer, muttering to herself. "Raven, what the hell? Don't wander off! No, get back--Dante, how do you have dysentery? Again?! No, I am not stopping this car, there are too many--Dammit, Ringo, how did you break your arm?! Were you AT-ing during the zom--DANTE YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE, YOU JERK! Anders, you're a goddamn magic-user, heal somebody! OH MY GOD, DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND AND DRIVE BACK TO THE NUKES, SO HELP ME!" A moment of quiet and then, "Hey! Somebody stole my last battery!"

Someone had discovered Organ Trail on Facebook. And had foolishly decided to play using the names of her friends. And had nearly decided to give up on this carful of people and try again. Surely Kira and Ezra would be more sensible during the zombie apocalypse.

"Raven! I said not to wander off! Great! Now you're dead and I have to start over!" Kathy didn't believe in leaving anyone behind. Even in the pixelated apocalypse.

[Open! Link to the conversation with Dante]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Presumably you'd have fewer zombies to kill in the middle of nowhere," Kathy countered, leaving her game behind to face him, straddling the back of her chair. "Fewer survivors, too, probably, which means less competition for resources. We still gotta eat, after all."

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"Yeah, but then why keep going?"

Dante sat down on a bed. Pretty sure it wasn't Kathy's. "Why not get outta DC and then park your ass?"

[spin_kick_snap]

It wasn't. Sigh. Sorry Raven.

"Because the original game this one is based on was about traveling the Oregon trail. This is a version of that old game, only instead of being a settler in a Conestoga wagon in 18-whatever, it's a modern day zombie fest." She grinned at him. "Maybe there's a safe zone there or whatever. But hey, I promise--if there's a zombie outbreak and we have to leave before we get nuked, we can find a nice place to hole up that's not on the other side of the country."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Always gotta fight back with these things," Dante said, with all the wisdom of his barely 17 years, and took a swig of his soda.

[spin_kick_snap]

And his extensive zombie-killing experience, too!

Not that Kathy had any more, other than reading Max Brooks a few times.

"All right, question for you," she asked, resting her chin on her hands and smiling a bit. She was enjoying the conversation. "How do we handle other survivors? Hide? Let the join? Make them join? Refuse to let anyone in at all? You're in charge, General Dante? How do we handle other people?"

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"See who can pull their weight and keep those," Dante said. "Tell the rest to fuck off."

It came out easy. Largely because he hadn't ever been in that situation. Or anything like it.

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"So, like, we tell little kids to fuck off?" she challenged. "Pregnant women? How long is the probationary period before we tell someone to fuck off? A day? A week? How long do we live with someone before we tell them they're not good enough to stay?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Five minutes?"

He shrugged again. "Who the fuck cares about their problems? And who's getting knocked up during a fucking zombie apocalypse anyway?"

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And this was why she was the leader in Organ Trail, Dante, and not you.

"You think condoms or birth control are going to be high on anyone's list of supplies to grab when you're being chased by zombies?" Kathy asked. "But people are still going to have sex. Biology plus adrenaline is a pretty potent mix." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you stop having sex because there were zombies?"

Kathy highly doubted it.

[rebelseekspizza]

There was a lot of shrugging happening on this end today.

"Maybe they should just figure some shit out."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was blaming the hangover.

"Figure what shit out?" Kathy asked. "Oral sex and handjobs?"

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Dante shrugged. "They used condoms before condoms, right?"

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"Made out of sheep's intestine," Kathy said, wrinkling her nose. "Not sure how many sheep we'll have left or who knows how to make 19th century condoms from them."

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"You think a plastic bag could work for it?" Dante mused. Because these were the important questions in a zombie invasion, obviously.

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Hey, not getting knocked up or and STD during the zombie apocalypse were both very important goals!

"Or Saran Wrap," Kathy mused. "Though you'd have to hold it pretty tightly." She grinned at him. "So your survivor commune might have trouble finding enough food to feed everyone, but it would have all the condoms and birth control in the surrounding three counties."

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"That's why you don't let every jackass who shows up at your doorstep into the place," Dante pointed out. "Less food you're gonna need."

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"Less help you'll have, fighting off zombies and other survivors," Kathy said. "You think people are going to become any better once the world's ended?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"I can take care of myself," Dante said.

He flopped back on the bed. "That's the important part."

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Kathy sighed at him. Loudly. "I hope I never break a limb or get sick or anything. I'd hate to get tossed out on my ass because I was temporarily out of commission."

[rebelseekspizza]

"You get sick days," Dante decided.

Very giving of you, kid.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy clasped her hands together and batted her lashes at him. "Oh Dante, you do care," she said with all the irony she could summon.