Another Bump In The Road

Frank left in the second van they had that the civilians were in. Before they left he loaded his shotgun and looked at Kurt. "Listen brother these fuckers give you any lip don't be afraid to smack them around especially soldier boy there. I'll be taking Max, Hank, Toby and Elliot." said Frank to Kurt who looked confused as he heard Elliot's name. "Are you sure boss? I mean after that whole situation a few weeks back Elliot has been quieter then a mouse." said Kurt to Frank who just smirked. "Yeah besides I gotta talk to the kid let him know that their is no hard feelings between us. Family bonding and what not." said Frank with a chuckle to Kurt who just smirked. The two men hugged and Frank was off in the van with his group. "Okay so plan is simple when we get to Elk Spar & Boat Shop I want Elliot with me, Hank you stick with Max and Toby you fat fucker can guard the van." said Frank to the group as he went over the plan with them. Elliot looked confused as he sat in the back with Hank and Toby but he just kept his head down not saying a word. Once they arrived at the shop Frank parked the van and stepped out as did the others. Frank had his shotgun on his back while his pistol was in his holster. Max had his Ruger SP101 in his waistband and a SIG SG 551. Hank had a Kimel AP-9, Elliot had a Glock 17 and Toby had a IMI Mini Uzi. Frank looked at the group and smiled. "Alright boys we go in grab a few boats stuff as many as we can and hope for the best. Oh and if you see anyone and they try to stop you...Kill them." said Frank in a calm but serious tone.

Max and Hank were going to go through the front while Frank and Elliot were going around the back. As they reached the back Frank stopped Elliot and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey about what happened a few weeks ago...I'm sorry that I did that to you. I only did that so that I could get into that bitch's head and it worked. She is terrified of us and I'm sorry I put you back in that position. I have a surprise for you when we get back kid. You're going to love it." said Frank to Elliot who looked confused. "You have a girl waiting for me back at camp?" asked Elliot to Frank who laughed as that was the first time he had heard Elliot spoke in weeks. "No my boy something better...Well almost as good as pussy." said Frank with a smirk. The conversation was short lived however both men heard gunfire coming from within the shop. Frank took lead with Elliot behind them and as both men entered from the back they met Max and Hank shortly seeing that both men were fine Frank saw the dead on the ground and quickly put two and two together. "Great work spread out and see if you can find some boats." said Frank to his men. The men then spread out looking for boats. A few minutes later Hank grinned and whistled over the rest of the boys. "Found two boats boss and they seem to be in great condition." said Hank to Frank who just nodded. "Alright boys let's roll out." said Frank to his group. Frank and Elliot carried one boat while Hank and Max carried the other one. Once they got to the van Toby helped loading the boats in and the men began to drive back.

A salty breeze blew through Sir Russell Barnes golden locks as his little sail boat floated along the coast of Maine. It had been many setting suns since his vessel had disembarked from the state of Virginia and many cold nights where he, along with a family of three, slept on the banks of eastern North America. Sir Barnes quest to locate the remaining Order of the Grouse knights has proven difficult; for every time the knight drew close to his brother and company it seemed as though they had just moved on not a day or more before. Latest word was that the order had set out by boat to head north towards Vermont with a planned stop by either the cranberry isles or Bar Harbor.

The family of three consisted of a grandfather, his daughter and her son. Sir Barnes happened upon them on his journey in Virginia whilst they fought off a particularly large group of the undead. He'd flanked the demons from behind, narrowly making a sound and using his spear to dispatch the foul fiends swiftly and efficiently. As thanks for his efforts the grandfather, who was a retired fisherman by trade, offered to sail Sir Barnes as far as Camden, Maine; where the ex-husband had taken residence after breaking his marital bonds with the fisherman's daughter. For before the great collapse wiped out communication, the ex-husband had stated the police had set up a supposedly impenetrable fortress with renewable resources. Alone, the grandfather feared he couldn't make the trip but by recruiting Sir Barnes to assist him the old fisherman believed they could make the journey.

Sir Barnes graciously excepted the offer and set sail with the family after spending time learning how to handle the vessel. The deal was that he'd help them get to Camden in exchange for the boat, supplies, and the training necessary to sail on his own. The journey to Camden was uneventful and most of the time was spent laying about under the deck to escape the spray of the sea and rays of the sun.


Once they reached Camden, Sir Barnes took the liberty to clear the port. Fortunately for them they found favor with the gods; for the docks were mostly clear of the walking dead. Once the family was secured and sent on their way, Sir Barnes set sail once again. The rest of the journey would be short compared to the initial voyage but dark weather, treacherous fog, and inexperience made navigating the seas difficult.


Now, with the skies cleared and the seas calmed, Sir Barnes finds himself riding through the Mt. Desert Narrows. The knight had gotten lost but was nearly to his destination. In the distance he could see what remained of a bridge that connected the island to mainland. A perplexing predicament and the knight was now faced with a decision. Either head to mainland to try and ascertain the condition of the island before landing there or taking the risk to land on the island without knowing its state. 


Choosing the latter, Sir Barnes headed towards the shores of the mainland and could see the movement of people in the distance. It was a rather big group, and their movements were unlike that of undead which could only mean it was a group of the living. The knight had heard his fair share of stories about bandits and such but he'd chance an encounter with these folks believing they might even have among them his brother and fellow knights. It was wishful thinking, but the idea of finding them after such a long journey was to big a temptation. 


Sir Barnes brought the boat as close to shore as possible but was quite a ways from the group he'd spotted. He was fully clothed in his leather armor; shield and spear fastened to his traveling bag and sword sheathed in its' scabbard to his left side. Also sheathed was his knife, which was attached to his belt beneath his back. Once the boat was secured, the knight disembarked and landed in water that was knee deep and he sloshed his way onto the beach looking in the distance to see if he'd be greeted, attacked, or simply ignored.

Frank and the others had just gotten back from their trip and started to unload the boats. Max and a few of the other bikers were taking care of it and he looked around and the first thing he noticed that people were cooking fish and they seemed to be in a good mood. Frank crossed his arms and smirked walking over to a family who were enjoying some fish. "Now Maddie share with your brother Josh we need to try and keep everyone's spirits up-" said James before he stopped himself as he noticed Frank coming over who just kept smirking. "Something smells good so I just wanted to see for myself. What do we have here? Man I haven't had fish in ages...How about you give me your plate?" asked Frank in a calm but serious tone to James who let out a sigh and handed him his plate while shaking. Frank and a few of the bikers laughed and Frank patted James on the back before walking over to Mallory.

"Gotta say Marine I'm impressed and that's not an easy thing to do. But I came here to let you know that after we get you home that the Hell-Riders are leaving. We are going to set up in Old Orchard Beach and if people want to stay with you they can but I want you know you come in to Old Orchard Beach that's Hell-Rider territory and you gotta pay the toll...Anyway you can. It's just business after all doll face." said Frank as he smirked to Mal followed by a wink. It was then he heard the sound of the second van coming in, Troy and the others coming in and bring in four boats and he looked at some civilians and snapped his fingers at them. "Chop chop assholes." said Frank to the civilians who quickly put down their food and ran over to take care of the boats. Frank just chuckled and walked away eating his fish as he walked over to Warren and it was then he looked concerned. "What the hell happened?" asked Frank to Warren rubbed a wet rag over his face using a bottle of water. "So we grab the boats but this old fucker was in there and to me it looked like he was just squatting in there but anyway he tried to shoot me so me and the other guys gave him a beating. Troy comes in and I started to bust his balls then he took a swing and we went at it. After that I killed the old fucker and took his crossbow. It was justified." said Warren to Frank who just shrugged follow by a nod. "Alright well I'll talk to Fox but until then keep your head low but go see Bobby have him check you out." said Frank to Warren who nodded and left to go find Bobby. Frank looked over at the boats they had set near the water. Six boats in total. Frank had a feeling this trip was going to come to a somewhat decent ending.

Mal got up as soon as she saw Troy and the rest of the bikers arrive. Listening to Troy's explanation of the events she grunted in an annoyed manner and shook her head. Seriously what was up with these guys and old people? That Warren guy was problematic, but she was glad Troy tried to do the right thing.

After Troy left Mal was approached by Frank and once more she shook her head, this time at Frank's short-sightedness. Territories and paying tolls? Was he for real? Could he really not see the bigger picture?

"I was hoping you'd be able to see the bigger picture Frank." Mal responded. "Hell-Rider territory and paying tolls, are you for real? We have a chance here to rebuild society here and you wanna keep doing the petty bullshit?"

It took a lot more than a biker boss to frighten Mallory anymore which is why she felt confident enough to talk to Frank the way she did. Compared to what she had seen so far after the world went to shit, pissing off a biker gang wasn't one of her concerns anymore. They didn't even make the top ten of most dangerous in her ranking.

"Can I suggest you think that one over?" Mal continued. "There is so much more you could do and so much more you could mean to the world. Do you really wanna keep playing the bad guy and cheat people out of their goods by something as menial as collecting some bullshit toll? And do you honestly think people would stand for something like that? You should focus on making friends instead of enemies."

Frank left to meet his guys leaving Mal behind frustrated on the short-sightedness he displayed. She walked over to the truck where Troy was but rather than to tell him about what Frank told her, she figured she'd do a sweep around the area to make sure no creepos were around. She took binoculars from one of the bags and climbed on top of the truck and scanned the area.

It wasn't long before she picked up some guy standing at the waterline. The way he was dressed, Mal had to look twice in order to realize what she saw. It was a dude who appeared like he came straight out of a Game of Thrones episode. At first she couldn't believe what she saw but then again medieval armor would be effective against creepos. Still, a whole medieval army right now would prove problematic if they wanted a fight.

"Uhhh Troy?" Mal called. "There's some dude standing by the waterline and I'm pretty sure he's not one of ours!"

Mal climbed down the truck, gesturing at Troy to follow her and walked towards the guy with her M4 in hand, flipping off the safety as she got closer. The guy appeared to have a shield and a spear for weaponry which seemed actually like a good thing to have in a fight against creepos. Still, the way he was dressed... either this dude was way into cosplay or not all there. She figured it would be best to be on her guard.

"Uhh... hi." Mal said. "Noticed you standing here, figure I'd come say hello."

Although she was making light, in her head she wasn't. She scanned the nearby surroundings for any more people hiding but couldn't spot any. She also looked at the guy; he didn't seem familiar either. Definitely not someone she knew before. But for all she knew this guy might know of what the situation in Bar Harbor was like. She waited for the man to respond to her initial greeting before saying anything more. In the meantime, more people had noticed the situation unfolding and were curious about the newcomer.

Frustrated beyond herself at Claudia's words about how she was a "goddamn weakling." Josephine shoved the chalk back into her bag which was quickly followed by her board. 'Fine. How do I prove it then? Huh!?' She shouted, trying with all her might to make the words come out but they wouldn't, which just frustrated her even more. Looking on as the woman unclothed and dove into the water Joe didn't wait for her to get out before she herself climbed back to solid ground and set about gathering her stuff to leave. 'How do I prove it? Do I fight you? You'd beat my ass. You think I want to be like this?' she ranted internally as her eyes burned with a mix of rage. But, Underneath the rage Joe's mind started turning. 'Fine then, If you think I'm weak, then I'll just have to try and prove you wrong.' She thought, Determined to get to the bottom of the hate the woman seemed to harbor for her.

With a glance back at the water where Claudia bathed Joe gathered her stuff and returned to the camp where she set to waiting for the woman to return, she needed to get to the bottom of it, It was gnawing at her mind that someone disliked her and she not only wanted, but needed to change her mind. But how? As time passed Joe sat on a stump 'My old log books! do I still have them?' she thought as she practically tore her bag off her back and started rummaging through it. Near the bottom were the log books in question, dust covered all but the most recent edition that she had kept records in briefly after the event. As her mind came to it however, she felt a tear form in her eye. But now wasn't the time. She dug the four books out of her bag and sat them upon the ground. Sifting through them caused a flurry of memories to come throgh her,

'October 12th, 8:45 PM, Found remains of florescent jacket at bottom of drop, blood on left sleeve. Assumed fatal fall.'

Further down there was another entry.

'October 12th, 10:15 PM, Found remaining hiker with broken leg in cave outside of route 5, no sign of others, survivor says were separated during storm, Why were they hiking through a storm?'

a few more entries found their way through Joe's eyes letting the memory come back to her. They weren't fond memories by any means, but they reafermed what her purpose was. Which fueled her drive to get to the bottom of the hate the woman, Claudia, seemed to have for her. Seeing her begin to march passed and towards the radio building Joe threw the first log book to the side and set through digging through the second in search of the entry in question, the one she hoped would explain at least a little about what she could bring to the table and hopefully earn some of Claudia's respect back. Sifting through pages she began to come to the dates surrounding that fateful day. 'there.' she said thrusting a finger to the page with a slightly shaky scribbled log entry. Not looking at it she shut the book with a piece of rope on the page before gathering them all up and making her way to the building Claudia was in.

Finding her in short order she waited for her to stop talking before taking a breath. No using the chalk this time. As she approached she held the three log books, each with the insignia of the Maine Association for Search and Rescue along with her name embedded in the cover. Hoping that it would at least aid in the woman's perception of her she stood before her for a second time, steadfast and determined to sway the woman's idea of her she pointed at her chest, then to the books before opening it and with what little remains of her pen wrote

"I saved people for a living, know how to track and navigate rough terrain. The reason I can't talk is in this log book. If I'm weak, show me how to be strong." Below the report as a footnote.

Above the logs read as follows:


May 21st, 11:43 AM, Went to aid in extraction of sick man in remote hunting lodge. Arrival was smooth, upon arrival injured party was observed having sustained a bite roughly the size of a dogs jaw on his wrist, According to victims acquaintance the animal in question seemed to be suffering from rabies. Breathing shallow. Temperature high. Requested medivac at trail head.

The next report in the log had splotches where liquid had made contact with the ink in places.

May 21st, 1:15 PM, This may be the last entry I make here,  I have done something terrible, Something I don't know how to handle. My voice has disappeared, No matter how many times I try nothing comes out. From what I can recall I may be suffering from mutism onset by extreme trauma. I killed a man today. Or, I think he was a man. He died, I felt his pulse fade myself I know it. But he came back and, Ate the others. Tried turning on me as well and was forced to defend myself. I have to find help. Heading to trail head. Hopefully the medivac crew will have answers.


holding the book out to her Joe waited to see what the woman would do, The two weeks or so she had been there it was nothing but hate for her, It was time to try and prove herself. If that meant risking her book being destroyed. So be it.