STATUS REPORT: SLOWING DOWN ON SEARCH PARTIES
RESOURCES BEING PUT INTO LAB MAINTAINANCE
STAFF HAVE BEGUN DOING RESEARCH
PROGRESS WILL BE SLOW, BUT STEADY
"Ay kid- rise and shine. We got a busy day ahead of us we do."
Wayne shakes Ashton, waking him up.
"Oh- right!"
"Gotta prove your worth to the others, so we're heading out into the forest. The others want ya' to show just how good you can help keep us supplied, eh?"
"Of course, I won't let any of you down!"
"Nice- nice! Alrighty then, it'll be 3 of us out there. You, me, and.. Lucas. Try not to pay him any more mind than ya' need to, ya heard?"
Ashton nods.
"Right- well then, come with me. I got this small sack you can use to gather berries. Sorry 'bout not having much better, but we all gotta make do."
He hand Ashton the bag, beckoning the boy to follow him. They move to the entrance, seeing Lucas waiting.
"..Took you two long enough. Are we leaving, or are you two going to dilly dally like you were doing in that room?"
"Yes- we're leaving now Lucas, let's go."
With that, the trio embark into the nearby woods for foraging. Ash seems especially into foraging, grabbing a good amount of the berries from last night.
The other 2 seem to work more as bodyguards for the boy, letting him do his thing while ensuring the place is clear of husks. Of course, the woods are unpredictable.
This is accentuated as the random noises of grass crunching increases within the woods. Small moans heard from one area, snarls from another.
"..Sunava- kid, stay behind me. This is gonna get ugly."
"What- no! I don't wanna just sit back, let me help!"
"Forget it yungin- this is too dangerous. I don't wantcha getting hurt. Lucas, you've got my back rig-"
Wayne notices Lucas bolting in the direction of the base.
"'EY- LUCAS! Gawdammit- guess we're on our own. I'll keep ya' safe, don't worry."
Husks come from all directions. There's not many, but the two are surrounded.
"Shit- kid.. when I say so, you run, okay?"
"No, I'm not running. I'm not gonna leave you!"
"Don't fight me about it- do as I say or you're gonna get hurt! You'll get in my way otherwise."
Ash stops in his tracks. Some time passes, the husks grow a bit closer.
"NOW!"
Ashton bolts as instructed, looking for the biggest gap between the husks and taking it.
Meanwhile, Wayne keeps yelling. Keeping the husks drawn onto himself allowing Ash to continue his escape.
Ash however, after pausing to catch his breath, debates if following Wayne's instructions right now is the correct call.
He looks around, making up his mind as he notices a heavy looking tree branch.
With some difficult he picks it up, dragging it with him back to where he and Wayne just were.
Once he's returned, he sees Wayne with two husks closing in on him. 4 other husks lay limp nearby.
Ash drags the tree branch up towards one of the husks closed in on Wayne, swinging it with all of his force at the husks back leg.
A large crack is heard as the branch makes contact with the husks leg, making it lose balance and fall to the ground.
Ash stumbles, regaining his own balance after a moment. Panting, he drags the tree branch to the downed husk.
With all of the effort he can manage, and a loud yell, he brings the branch onto the Husks head. With leverage, the husks head is squished.
Wayne is able to hold his own now that he's handling one single husk, quickly disposing of it.
Now, both Wayne and Ash appear to be out of breath.
"I thought I.. told ya' not ta'.. come back kid."
"Sorry-.. not sorry. You good?"
"I- well.."
He shows his lower wrist to the boy. A currently bleeding bitemark being visible.
"You're bleeding! I- uhm.. oh!"
Ash looks to the husk bodies, searching their bodies for something that could be used to treat a wound.
He finds nothing. Without much choice, he tears at his long sleeves to get rags for Wayne. Opting against the husks clothing because it could infect the wound.
He grabs some tissues from his pocket, using them as makeshift gauze. He wraps the rags around Wayne's wrist tightly, keeping the tissues over the wound.
"There- just keep pressure on it, okay? Is anyone at your group an actual doctor?"
"K-Kara's one of them I think, she was studying.. pre med I think."
"Then let's go."
Ash offers what support he can for Wayne as the two make their return to the base.
As the two enter, Lucas keeps his eyes off of the door, ignoring them. The rest of the group seeming to be in the entrance area.
"What'd you all grab out there?" Bonnie asks
"What happened to Wayne?" Kara questions.
"He got- bitten by those things I think. Kara- you were on.. uh, pre med right? Mind checking him out? I did what I could.. but like- I'm not really a doctor.. heh."
"Yes of course!"
Kara motions for Wayne to come with her, the two exiting for now.
Ashton takes the small bag of berries from his shoulder and set it down for the others to see.
"There- got y'all that! But- more importantly."
He glances to Lucas.
"What was up with that man? Why'd you run off?"
Colt looks to Lucas.
"Run off? You said it was a tactical retreat, that you all were to rendezvous here. Am I to believe you were lying?"
"What- no, of course not! The kid must've gotten his details mixed up. Besides, I think there's an elephant in the room we aren't addressing."
He continues.
"Wayne never gets injured when he's out. But the one time he goes out with the kid he gets hurt? You ask me, that's not coincidence."
Ash glares at Lucas.
"What are you trying to say? It's not my fault he got hurt, he told me to run so I did! Hell I even came back to help, don't pin this on me! At least I helped, you just ran away!"
"I did not- it was a tactical retreat. This was discussed prior, you must have not been paying attention. Typical kid."
"Hey- stop being a jerkwad!"
"Enough you two!" Colt intercepts.
"The easiest way to solve this is to simply hear Wayne's side once Kara's finished tending to him. From what I can tell, you all got a decent haul there. Nice work."
Lucas gives Colt a nod, Ash does the same.