old soldiers never die;

GUNNAR SCOTT | 27 and they don't fade away.

[gunnarscotts-blog]

Gunnar leaned against the wall, waiting to catch Nina as she came down from a pass around the walls. She had one of the keenest eyes of anyone he knew, and if there were potential weak spots, she’d find them. Plus, he needed to have the same talk with her as he’d had with Gabriel. They had to be prepared. “Well?” he questioned once she’d reappeared. “Do you see what I mean about the structure weakening?” Several people had complained about the noise from the walkers getting louder, and that only meant there were more of them out there. “We have to do something, Neen. The second those walls collapse, this compound is gone. I need the three of us to come up with something. Plans, contingencies. Get rid of the geeks, reinforce the walls, and maybe prepare for a possible evac.”

[lieutenantducklings]

[gunnarscotts-blog]

@exdocbradley

“You know why I have to, Gun. And you know I won’t be alone.” Gabriel muttered, staring down at the table, it was just another conversation like the ones they always had and he understood where Gunnar was coming from. Of course he understood. He was the only one with medical expertise on the compound, it was irresponsible of him to keep going out on supply runs and leaving them without a doctor, but he couldn’t not go out. He knew he could just give the runners a list of things to keep an eye out for but there were some things they wouldn’t be able to pick out. Herbs, plants, even household chemicals that would be useful. If there were anyone else he would be okay with letting them go but there wasn’t, and their medical supplies were running low. It was irresponsible to go but it was irresponsible to stay too. He couldn’t be their doctor if he didn’t have anything to treat them with after all.

When Gunnar finished speaking Gabriel finally lifted his eyes to meet his friends gaze. If their positions were reversed, if he were the leader and Gunnar was the medic he would be giving him the exact same talk, and he’d bet that Gunnar would be just as adamant to go too, so of course he understood where he was coming from. He also knew that Gunnar could speak against him all he wanted, but he wouldn’t stop him. “They need me out there, just as much as you need me here if not more. What if something happens to one of them on the road? We can’t lose more people, Gunnar.” Gabriel let out a sigh and leaned back with a grin, though his gaze never left Gunnar’s. “I’ll be okay, and you know I’ll come back. I always do.”

“You’re too good for them,” Gunnar murmured, finally having to look away and sighing. As much as he knew Jefferson might be able to handle being the group’s medic, he wasn’t as experienced as Gabriel. And Jefferson’s talents lay more in surgery than actual healing. Quietly, Gunnar got back to his feet, walking to the door and closing it before sitting on the table in front of Gabe. “It’s getting worse out there.” He let that hang in the air for a moment. “The walkers are wearing down the wall in the right side. They could break through any day. I’ve had people working to fix it and keep an eye out but...” With a heavy sigh, he looked at his hands. “It won’t be enough.”

“We need to come up with a contingency plan for when this plays falls. I need you to start working with Jefferson Williams more. Teach him what you know. And others you see fit, but he has at least a base medical knowledge to grow upon. And we have to train more fighters. Not only that, but somehow we need to start luring them away from the walls. There’s too many to completely clear the perimeter, but if we could just lessen the chances of someone dying...” Gunnar hated thinking about this. He could see it clearly. Death. It was coming for them all but he had to still try. “That is why I worry about you going out there. What if you don’t come back to me? To us?” he amended quickly.

[gunnarscotts-blog]

“You could get hurt.” Gunnar put his hands down on the table between the two men as he spoke to Gabriel. His probably one and only friend in this new hell they were currently living in. “I can’t let you go out there alone, or at all. I need you here. I need you to help me keep these people together. I need you to... I just need ya, Gabe.” Blowing out a breath, he knew supply runs were necessary but they were also risky. Why couldn’t Gabriel see that? They had a team now, people who could get in and out and knew their way around. Gunnar wouldn’t be able to keep things running if something happened to Gabe. He might’ve been the leader, the head of the group, but Gabe was their heart.

Sitting down and rubbing his face, Gunnar was silent. This argument happened all the time, and each time, he lost. But even if he offered to tag along, he was made to stay. He was invaluable. He was the leader. They needed him to stay back in case anything happened. He hated it. This wasn’t what he’d envisioned when they’d started the survivor camp. Gunnar just wanted to go back to him and Gabe and a few others. That was better. They’d survived just fine. “If you go, you have to be careful.”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

“No.” Gunnar’s voice was firm as he poured himself a glass of water before offering one to his sister. “I am most certainly not letting you out of these walls right now. It’s not safe, we just brought in our last wanderer and we’re just waiting on the stragglers from our most recent supply run. It’s too dangerous out there right now and we’ve got to fortify the walls.” He smiled, taking a seat at the table with her. “But we have found some lovely new medical books in the fallen library. The Hart boy dug them up for you.”

[theravenwilliams-blog]

“Fine. I’ll take Jeff and Hawkeye. Should be fun.”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

“Good. If there are too many, come back immediately. Do not try and be heroes. We’ll regroup and figure something out.”

[theravenwilliams-blog]

“…Well, can’t I just take Spencer? We’ll be a lot quieter.”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

“This isn't about stealth, this is beginning to clear out a new area for us. Do you want to complete a run or not, Williams?”

[theravenwilliams-blog]

“Sign me up for the next run.”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Just the kind of attitude I like. Take your hulk of a brother and perhaps another archer and investigate the new neighborhood Gabriel told us about.”

[lilianmace-blog]

"But why can’t I go on supply runs?"

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Because you are a healer and I need you here."

[neenafisher-blog]

"Firearms for the kids. No bullets. Perimeter check. Anything else, captain?”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Yes, you can check your attitude at the door, thank you. You are dismissed."

[gabrielbradley-blog]

"Well I do believe they had to have survived this long somehow. I don’t doubt at all that he’s the reason why." He admitted with a tilt of his head, of course he was speaking more about Spencer than Raven. Raven had always struck him as someone who would easily look after herself, Spencer however - as skilled as he was - was far too flighty for his own good. "Did you see the other guy they came in with? He looks like he knows his way around a bow too. If we had an endless supply of arrows I doubt we’d need guns on the wall anymore."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Yes, I see everything, Gabriel," he laughed. "The little girl looks like a spitfire, so we should keep an eye on all three of them. But yes, maybe we should figure out how to make our own. They did it before, we can certainly do it ourselves. It might be good to have just in case bullets fail us. I've already spoken with Nina and Casey about doing some more gun safety, but perhaps we can ask Raven about making arrows."

[neenafisher-blog]

Nina rolled her eyes and turned from him. “What do you want Gunnar?”

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"I need you and Casey to discuss firearms training for some of our newer and younger members," he told her. "Safety and basics for the youngest and something a little more in-depth for the others. Remember, try not to fire off any bullets, we don't want to bring down any rotters on us." Gunnar paused for a moment, finally looking at her. "Also I think we need the perimeter swept again to check for holes. Is this something you can do or should I work on finding a replacement for you?"

[gabrielbradley-blog]

Gabriel smirked and nodded, “The very same. Trust them to go out looking for supplies only to come back with a guy that looks like he could defend our compound single-handedly. Maybe we should let them go out on runs more often.”

"Alright thanks, I’ll go around and see who’s up for it and we’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning. Might take the twins brother if he wants to. Keen to see what he’s like out there if I’m being honest."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Strong and beautiful as he may be, we know very little about him. But I do like the twins," he mused for a moment. "We'll have to trust them on this one." Gunnar laughed and shrugged. "Yes, I'd like to know what he is capable of. Maybe take one of the archers. We've got plenty just lazing about."

[neenafisher-blog]

"Go away."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"No," he answered firmly.

[gabrielbradley-blog]

"That’s not a bad idea. The twins didn’t manage to bring too much back but given what they ran into that’s understandable. One or two should suffice, I don’t want to take too many people when they’d be better off looking out for the compound."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"You mean that wall of a man they call brother?" he laughed. "Yes. Take who you need. I trust your judgement. We should have enough to protect the compound."

[neenafisher-blog]

"No."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"I wasn't asking."

[gabrielbradley-blog]

"I’m telling you, we’re gonna need to go out on another supply run soon. I know there’s been more walkers out lately but if we don’t get more meds soon we won’t be able to patch our people up for much longer."

[gunnarscotts-blog]

"Perhaps you should lead a group out to scavenge what you can," Gunnar offered thoughtfully. "How many people do you think you'll need to take?"