Misplaced Lens Cap
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KIROKAZE
Jules of Nature
Cosmic Funnies
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trying on a metaphor
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@theartofmadeline
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Not today Justin
Today's Document
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@troubledwaterways
“Let’s get this over with.”
I’m Sami. There isn’t much to be said about me, so let’s keep it that way.
If ya’ want to interact with me, by all means go ahead. But first and foremost, some rules.
⚗️ Use your common sense, this isn’t the place to be explicit.
⚗️ …I guess everyone is welcome; I won’t be taking the time to list exceptions. If I dislike you enough I’ll see to it myself that I won’t.
⚗️ I don’t have much more to say. Just don’t be an asshat. Go ham, or… whatever.
“Fuck was that all about?!”
“You’re asking me?…”
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Quiet yet reliable... Gotcha. Surely he'll be useful to us. He kinda sounds like Brickbattler... They'd probably get along unfortunately." -> He shakes his head slightly, tapping his foot against the ground. The sun was setting more and more, they should be heading back home at some point.
“He’s been useful to us so far, so I doubt he’d be any different. Assuming he comes with us, of course.”
Sami hummed, adjusting their bag.
“Where are your guys’ bases located at? It’s getting dark.”
"Pretty far back...." -> He groans slightly in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Told Sheds earlier that if we couldn't find ya guys quick enough we'd hole up in a nearby village... Seems like we gotta do that now anyways... Maybe yer friend will show up while we're stationed over there."
"Seems like a plan! Man, I hope Sage hasn’t run off too far.”
“When you think about where we’ve been so far the most he’d probably be at is in the outskirts.
“Aren’t we in the outskirts right now?”
“I don’t know. We don’t have time for technicalities.”
“We should probably get going then!”
Kara slung her bag around one side, tossing the stage light into Sami’s hands (much to her displeasure).
"Yeah, let's get movin'." -> He adjusts his hammer against his shoulder before turning and starting to walk off. "Sheds! Stay behind the ladies and keep the rear protected. Call out in case ya see someone or somethin' comin' towards us. You got sharper eyes than I do."
"On it!"
Shedletsky called back, resting his sword against his shoulder and falling back. The three followed Builderman in a single line, the twins placed in the middle and Shedletsky placed at the rear, on guard for any danger that came their way.
"We shouldn't be too far from the little village. Hopefully nobody's came and claimed it... Don't really like the idea of havin' ta fight fer it, y'know?" -> The little village that Builderman was talking about slowly came into view. Abandoned and left behind, empty with ruined buildings and foreloin streets. It seemed like no one's been here for quite sometime... -> But... What was that sound?
"Hold on!"
Shedletsky called out, pausing in his tracks. The twins halted soon after he did. Kara glanced at Sheds curiously, and Sami (who seemed to have heard it as well) looked around in search for the source of the noise.
"...Something's there." "Do you need a light?" "Sami, if you keep saying that, everybody's going to think you're a goddamn chainsmoker." "I don't feel like saying 'light source'. Besides, who's going to be smoking during these times anyway?!"
"I knew I heard you two." -> Builderman gripped his hammer tightly as a figure emerged from the distance, red plaid scarf jostling slightly as he came over, katana gripped tightly within his hand. It was Sage! "Who are ya?"
"Sage! There you are; we were planning on looking for you soon enough."
"Well, at least we found them..."
Sami cleared their throat, turning to introduce Sage to Builderman and Shedletsky whilst Kara explained the situation to Sage.
"That's Sage, to make it more clear. Third member of our little party."
"These two are Builderman and Shedletsky respectively, they're the survivors I mentioned meeting not long ago. We plan on joining their group and heading back to their..."
"Joining their group?" -> He squints from behind his glasses, eyeing up Builderman and Sheds before shrugging and sheathing his katana. "Fine. Let's get this over with. We need to get inside before these freaks find us again." "Yeah, so let's stop talkin' and start settin' up."
"Sounds good to me."
"Let's get a move on then!"
"How about you actually move instead of just standing around then?" "Shut your mouth."
Sami rolled her eyes, brushing off Kara's comment and turning on the stage light. The streets of the village were lit up with a harsh bright beam as she directed the stage light towards them, showcasing its ruins.
"This place is a wreck..."
"I'll patrol outside for now." -> Builderman was going to say something, but decided to just keep quiet at the katana wielding survivor trotted off to survey around the abandoned village. "Let's get those two little houses next to each other, yeah? The little ladies can have one, me and Sheds can stay in the other. If yer little friend's gonna play guard dog then the rest of us can...." "Rest easy, I guess."
"See ya', Sage!" "Have a good one." "If they have bunk beds I'm getting the top one!" "ABSOLUTELY NOT. YOU HAD THE TOP ONE OUR ENTIRE CHILDHOOD, I'm taking the top one." "Yeah? I'm calling dibs." "It's for, what, a single night??? I'm taking the top bunk." "NO YOU AREN'T!!!"
Shedletsky let out a chuckle as he watched the twins bicker like kids on a playground, turning to Builderman.
"Y'wanna get goin', tough guy?"
"Yeah." -> He lifts his free hand up, pointing towards two little houses that seemed fairly close together, gesturing vaguely. "Alright everyone. We'll take up those two houses. Gals, take the one on the left. Sheds, you and I will take the one on the right. We gotta make sure everything's secured and barred up before we all go ta sleep. Ya 'ear me?"
"Noted."
"Got it!"
"I'm still taking the one on the top." "That's if there are bunk beds!"
Sami grumbled, and the twins broke away from Builderman and Shedletsky into their own pair.
"Have a good night." "We can't go to sleep yet- we still have to secure everything, remember?" "...I knew that."
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Quiet yet reliable... Gotcha. Surely he'll be useful to us. He kinda sounds like Brickbattler... They'd probably get along unfortunately." -> He shakes his head slightly, tapping his foot against the ground. The sun was setting more and more, they should be heading back home at some point.
“He’s been useful to us so far, so I doubt he’d be any different. Assuming he comes with us, of course.”
Sami hummed, adjusting their bag.
“Where are your guys’ bases located at? It’s getting dark.”
"Pretty far back...." -> He groans slightly in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Told Sheds earlier that if we couldn't find ya guys quick enough we'd hole up in a nearby village... Seems like we gotta do that now anyways... Maybe yer friend will show up while we're stationed over there."
"Seems like a plan! Man, I hope Sage hasn’t run off too far.”
“When you think about where we’ve been so far the most he’d probably be at is in the outskirts.
“Aren’t we in the outskirts right now?”
“I don’t know. We don’t have time for technicalities.”
“We should probably get going then!”
Kara slung her bag around one side, tossing the stage light into Sami’s hands (much to her displeasure).
"Yeah, let's get movin'." -> He adjusts his hammer against his shoulder before turning and starting to walk off. "Sheds! Stay behind the ladies and keep the rear protected. Call out in case ya see someone or somethin' comin' towards us. You got sharper eyes than I do."
"On it!"
Shedletsky called back, resting his sword against his shoulder and falling back. The three followed Builderman in a single line, the twins placed in the middle and Shedletsky placed at the rear, on guard for any danger that came their way.
"We shouldn't be too far from the little village. Hopefully nobody's came and claimed it... Don't really like the idea of havin' ta fight fer it, y'know?" -> The little village that Builderman was talking about slowly came into view. Abandoned and left behind, empty with ruined buildings and foreloin streets. It seemed like no one's been here for quite sometime... -> But... What was that sound?
"Hold on!"
Shedletsky called out, pausing in his tracks. The twins halted soon after he did. Kara glanced at Sheds curiously, and Sami (who seemed to have heard it as well) looked around in search for the source of the noise.
"...Something's there." "Do you need a light?" "Sami, if you keep saying that, everybody's going to think you're a goddamn chainsmoker." "I don't feel like saying 'light source'. Besides, who's going to be smoking during these times anyway?!"
"I knew I heard you two." -> Builderman gripped his hammer tightly as a figure emerged from the distance, red plaid scarf jostling slightly as he came over, katana gripped tightly within his hand. It was Sage! "Who are ya?"
"Sage! There you are; we were planning on looking for you soon enough."
"Well, at least we found them..."
Sami cleared their throat, turning to introduce Sage to Builderman and Shedletsky whilst Kara explained the situation to Sage.
"That's Sage, to make it more clear. Third member of our little party."
"These two are Builderman and Shedletsky respectively, they're the survivors I mentioned meeting not long ago. We plan on joining their group and heading back to their..."
"Joining their group?" -> He squints from behind his glasses, eyeing up Builderman and Sheds before shrugging and sheathing his katana. "Fine. Let's get this over with. We need to get inside before these freaks find us again." "Yeah, so let's stop talkin' and start settin' up."
"Sounds good to me."
"Let's get a move on then!"
"How about you actually move instead of just standing around then?" "Shut your mouth."
Sami rolled her eyes, brushing off Kara's comment and turning on the stage light. The streets of the village were lit up with a harsh bright beam as she directed the stage light towards them, showcasing its ruins.
"This place is a wreck..."
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Quiet yet reliable... Gotcha. Surely he'll be useful to us. He kinda sounds like Brickbattler... They'd probably get along unfortunately." -> He shakes his head slightly, tapping his foot against the ground. The sun was setting more and more, they should be heading back home at some point.
“He’s been useful to us so far, so I doubt he’d be any different. Assuming he comes with us, of course.”
Sami hummed, adjusting their bag.
“Where are your guys’ bases located at? It’s getting dark.”
"Pretty far back...." -> He groans slightly in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Told Sheds earlier that if we couldn't find ya guys quick enough we'd hole up in a nearby village... Seems like we gotta do that now anyways... Maybe yer friend will show up while we're stationed over there."
"Seems like a plan! Man, I hope Sage hasn’t run off too far.”
“When you think about where we’ve been so far the most he’d probably be at is in the outskirts.
“Aren’t we in the outskirts right now?”
“I don’t know. We don’t have time for technicalities.”
“We should probably get going then!”
Kara slung her bag around one side, tossing the stage light into Sami’s hands (much to her displeasure).
"Yeah, let's get movin'." -> He adjusts his hammer against his shoulder before turning and starting to walk off. "Sheds! Stay behind the ladies and keep the rear protected. Call out in case ya see someone or somethin' comin' towards us. You got sharper eyes than I do."
"On it!"
Shedletsky called back, resting his sword against his shoulder and falling back. The three followed Builderman in a single line, the twins placed in the middle and Shedletsky placed at the rear, on guard for any danger that came their way.
"We shouldn't be too far from the little village. Hopefully nobody's came and claimed it... Don't really like the idea of havin' ta fight fer it, y'know?" -> The little village that Builderman was talking about slowly came into view. Abandoned and left behind, empty with ruined buildings and foreloin streets. It seemed like no one's been here for quite sometime... -> But... What was that sound?
"Hold on!"
Shedletsky called out, pausing in his tracks. The twins halted soon after he did. Kara glanced at Sheds curiously, and Sami (who seemed to have heard it as well) looked around in search for the source of the noise.
"...Something's there." "Do you need a light?" "Sami, if you keep saying that, everybody's going to think you're a goddamn chainsmoker." "I don't feel like saying 'light source'. Besides, who's going to be smoking during these times anyway?!"
"I knew I heard you two." -> Builderman gripped his hammer tightly as a figure emerged from the distance, red plaid scarf jostling slightly as he came over, katana gripped tightly within his hand. It was Sage! "Who are ya?"
"Sage! There you are; we were planning on looking for you soon enough."
"Well, at least we found them..."
Sami cleared their throat, turning to introduce Sage to Builderman and Shedletsky whilst Kara explained the situation to Sage.
"That's Sage, to make it more clear. Third member of our little party."
"These two are Builderman and Shedletsky respectively, they're the survivors I mentioned meeting not long ago. We plan on joining their group and heading back to their..."
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Quiet yet reliable... Gotcha. Surely he'll be useful to us. He kinda sounds like Brickbattler... They'd probably get along unfortunately." -> He shakes his head slightly, tapping his foot against the ground. The sun was setting more and more, they should be heading back home at some point.
“He’s been useful to us so far, so I doubt he’d be any different. Assuming he comes with us, of course.”
Sami hummed, adjusting their bag.
“Where are your guys’ bases located at? It’s getting dark.”
"Pretty far back...." -> He groans slightly in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Told Sheds earlier that if we couldn't find ya guys quick enough we'd hole up in a nearby village... Seems like we gotta do that now anyways... Maybe yer friend will show up while we're stationed over there."
"Seems like a plan! Man, I hope Sage hasn’t run off too far.”
“When you think about where we’ve been so far the most he’d probably be at is in the outskirts.
“Aren’t we in the outskirts right now?”
“I don’t know. We don’t have time for technicalities.”
“We should probably get going then!”
Kara slung her bag around one side, tossing the stage light into Sami’s hands (much to her displeasure).
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Quiet yet reliable... Gotcha. Surely he'll be useful to us. He kinda sounds like Brickbattler... They'd probably get along unfortunately." -> He shakes his head slightly, tapping his foot against the ground. The sun was setting more and more, they should be heading back home at some point.
“He’s been useful to us so far, so I doubt he’d be any different. Assuming he comes with us, of course.”
Sami hummed, adjusting their bag.
“Where are your guys’ bases located at? It’s getting dark.”
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Who's this friend of yours? You two have mentioned him so much and yet we don't know nothin' 'bout 'im." -> He tilts his head slightly to the side, staring down at the two other survivors. "We'd wanna know more 'bout 'im, y'know?"
“…Funny enough, we don’t know too much about them either. They keep to themselves a lot!”
“Don’t paint them like that. His name is Sage; he’s a bit quiet, but he’s reliable as well. He gets the job done.”
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Builderman." -> He tips his hard hat before shaking the woman's hand. He nods his head towards Sheds. "That's Shedletsky. We've come ta ask the two of ya if you and your party would wanna join ours. The more the merrier, y'know? Make it harder for them killers ta pick us off."
“Pleasure to meet you- that would be nice, yes. I don’t know if Kara’s communicated this to you two yet, but we’ve got another member with us. Unfortunately… he isn’t here right now.”
She rolled her eyes, looking back at Kara.
“He hasn’t left left this place, has he?”
“I would hope not!”
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
-> Builderman followed until the two sisters finally met up with each other. He paused, holding his arm out slightly to keep Sheds from moving any further as well. These two didn't seem dangerous to him, but he also didn't want to risk anything. They may be survivors like him and Sheds, but Builderman's always been a worry wart and didn't want to risk either of them possibly getting ambushed.
They hugged (as best as Kara could anyway, with the stage light in hand) for a second before parting, Sami’s hands staying on Kara’s shoulders.
“Fix that damn bow tie of yours-“
“The first thing you care about is my tie? How about yours???”
“W- my tie is perfectly fine, thank you!”
Sami grumbled, her hands moving to briefly adjust Kara’s bow tie before she moved around her, approaching Shedletsky and Builderman.
“Sami.” She introduced, offering a handshake.
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Okay... So we don't got this other guy?"
-> He rubbed his temple slightly with a sigh, shaking his head. Okay, he can work with this!
"Let's go find ya sister first, yeah? We'll find 'er, get you guys back to our base then we'll go find ya friend."
"Yeah... yeah, she's just up ahead!"
"Right, let's hop to it, then!"
Shedletsky piped up, gesturing for Builderman to follow along as he set off walking again. Kara was quick to follow behind, holding up the stage light and lighting up the area they were heading in.
"Give us a sec, Sami- I'll be right there. Over and out!"
-> Builderman huffed and lifted up his hammer, resting it against his shoulder as he followed behind the other two survivors. This was going to be interesting honestly. He never expected they'd get some additions to their party. -> Builderman, despite feeling safe with the other two, still kept his guard up as much as he possibly could. He didn't know if this new person had a weapon or not and he was worried that Sheds could possibly get caught off guard.
Nothing seemed too off about them yet, thankfully. They did visibly have a knife or two on them, sure, but with their hands occupied with the stage light, they couldn’t exactly… use them.
They soon came across a small clearing. Another woman (who Kara quickly ran to) sat off to the side of it, also in a lab coat and attire identical to Kara’s. Her hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and a pair of pink glasses rested on her face.
“Sami!”
“Kara.”
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"So there's just the three of you then? You, your sister and whoever this third person is?" -> He rubs the back of his neck. Shit, he was hoping he'd be able to bring all three of them back with him. Two out of the three is... Okay, he guesses. "Do you have any way we could find this third person or?"
"Course I do! Last I heard he was off on a supply run of some sorts. Sami's got him, I think."
["...I thought you were the one who figured out long-distance communication with them?"]
For the first time Sami's voice was audible through the headphones as Kara removed them to allow the others to get a better listen. Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the most important part right now.
"No?... I thought you had him?!"
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Do y'all got anyone else in ya party by chance? They can come and join up with us too if they wanna. The bigger the group, the harder it'll be for these killers to pick us off, y'know?" "We'll have bigger search parties too... Food, supplies and all that. We've got a little setup in a small abandoned town nearby. So you and your sister will be able to have your own little space."
She briefly relayed this information to 'Sami', waiting for a response from her before she spoke.
"Give me a sec, Sami- Yeah, we do, actually. We've got one other guy with us. Unfortunately, they're currently out of range, so I'll have to get in touch with them later..."
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
-> Builderman stepped forward and held out his hand, nodding his head slightly. "Builderman, pleasure ta meet ya. I guess you could call me the leader of our little group. Sheds over there is basically my second in command. Known 'im for years."
She kept a hand on her headphones, reaching out with her free one to accept the handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you and your party! Hang on, I'm getting something from her."
"Sami! Remember when I told you about the other survivor I met? Found him again, we just got an invite to join them. Over."
The message was short, but the point had been made.
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"So you're one of the survivors that Sheds was talkin' 'bout? You got anyone else with ya?" -> He lowered his hammer slightly. He didn't want to look like an active threat, but he didn't know this person. He didn't know what they were capable of.
Shedletsky stepped aside to get a better look at the girl- if her voice didn't make it obvious enough who she was, then her attire definitely did.
"That's er' all right!"
"Correct! For future references- I'm Kara. And yup, got my sister somewhere round' here as well."
"Well. Seems like findin' ya wasn't too hard then..." -> He relaxed and rested the head of his hammer against the ground, leaning on it slightly with a tired smile. "Me and my buddy over 'ere were wonderin' if you and your sister wanted to join our group. We've got others, bout four or so, back at our camp." "We're all survivors and stuff. We've got a medical professional with us as well. Her name's Jane Doe."
"You'd be willing? Hmm..."
She dimmed the light down to a hazy glow, slinging it around her and climbing down from the tree. She quickly joined the two of them on the ground, dusting herself off a little and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, sure does sound peachy to me! I'll see what my sister thinks."
She pulled on the headphones, beginning to fiddle with them a bit.
"I know the name of the guy with you... but not yours. Pray tell?"
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
-> Builderman, without thinking, moved in front of Sheds and gripped his hammer tightly, squinting and looking up at the person in the trees. Okay.... He was already starting to have seconds thoughts about this. "Turn that damn light off! You're blindin' us!"
"Sorry!-"
They repositioned the light so it was directly at the ground, lighting up the area enough to make sight possible. She looked them over for a moment before her eyes lit up, clearly having recognized Shedletsky from their previous encounter.
"It's been a bit. I see you brought a friend this time."
"Knew I smelt somethin' familiar." - @hammerin-heads
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
Shedletsky replied teasingly, his eyes shooting over to where Builderman was. He took his eyes off of his priceless sword, wasting no time in approaching him.
"I'd prefer bein' dragged 'round by a cat then the hellhole we're livin' in." -> He snorts and rests his signature hammer against his shoulder. The poor guy looked really tired. Or well, Builderman always seemed to look tired.
He rested an arm on Builderman's free shoulder and leaned against him (and the sword), the point of his blade digging into the ground.
"Then again, I don't know anybody who wouldn't prefer that optiont. Lighten up a little, tough guy! At least you got me as an add-on."
He joked, though there was some sincerity to his tone.
"Yeah. I do got ya. You're one of the few people who ain't at my throat most of the time." -> He snorts and flashes a smile back. He was trying to match Sheds' energy to some degree, but he was still tired and worn out. "I feel like more of our party uh... Won't like me too much because of what's been goin' on."
"If it has to do with the whole SNAFU we've been thrown in, then they have just bout' as much of a reason to dislike me as well. I ain't letting you go without a fight, big guy!"
He fired back confidently, feeling extremely sure of himself. Truth be told... really, he could have done better himself, but there wasn't any use crying over spilled milk right now!
"Sheds..." -> He stared down at the other survivor before heaving a sigh. He really didn't want to say anything about the "new member" of their little party, but he was gonna have to say something sooner or later. "I know I can trust ya to understand me, Sheds. You're the only one who'd be able to understand m'line of thought and whatnot. But we technically have a new member to our little party...." "But he ain't someone the others would want. Or well- Most of 'em would want."
He raised an eyebrow curiously, the smirk gone from his face as it settled into one of confusion. This was the first he'd heard of it (and usually he'd know quickly if their party gained an additional member), so all things considered... it was probably a less-than-pleasant situation. But whatever- or whoever it was couldn't be that bad, right? He trusted that Builderman, at the very least, would act on his better judgement.
"First I've heard of that... so who might this new member be?"
"He.... Used to be? I guess technically used to be? I don't know. The situation's all over the place and even I don't got all of the pieces to the story. Guest would know better than I do." "That... Hacksaw guy. Y'know 'im, guy with that sawblade hand. He's in our group now. He's.... Tamed, I guess. Seems like he really only listens to Guest." "Apparently they used to be friends or somethin', best friends. Then Hacksaw was left behind by his old party and... Got turned into what he is."
He stared blankly up at Builderman for a second, the words registering in his brain a moment later. His facial expression turned into one of horror as his mouth gaped, before he shook his head as if to check that he hadn’t heard incorrectly.
“Builderman, I trust you, but the goddamned Hacksaw guy!? That’s a serial killer who- Guest has history with him???”
He asked incredulously. Whatever doubts he had about Guest had now been amplified! Good on him.
"Listen, I didn't wanna bring the guy in either! I really didn't. But I just- M'heart's soft, okay? The kid looked so fuckin' happy to have his best friend back and I just-" -> He groans and grabs at his little hard hat, muttering something to himself. "I couldn't handle seein' him sad anymore. We're all in this fuckin' shitshow together. I'm supposed ta be the one to make sure everyone's happy and safe. And the guy hasn't been causin' no trouble so...." "As long as Guest can keep him under control or whatever then I think we'll be fine... And I think that mask of his has got somethin' ta do with that whole... Freaky fucked up psycho side of him. He kept sayin' that whatever he was inhalin' was supposed ta "keep 'im alive" or somethin'." "Jane thinks that's horseshit and so do I."
“Who am I to argue against Ms. Magenta Doctor Lady, I guess…”
He hesitates, before giving a reluctant sigh of acceptance. He knew for a fact he also definitely did NOT want Hacksaw around. If it was anybody else telling him of this, he would’ve been strongly against it, but when it came to Builderman… things felt different when he was around.
He knew why, of course. He wasn’t as idiotic as he appeared; he could think for himself. Builderman, however… was a whole different story.
"Call me an idiot. I know I deserve it. I'm just some stupid old man with a soft ol' heart. I wouldn't be shocked if that's what gets me killed some day."
-> He looks away and rests the head of his hammer against the ground, gripping the handle tightly within his hand.
"I just... Couldn't stand seein' the kid upset. If there was a way to save Joe's brother too then I woulda tried to get him back too..."
“You’re an idiot, although a real loveable one at that.
He playfully bumped Builderman in the side, choosing to go along with what he’d said for the time being. He was still… skeptical, of course, but he decided he was going to get involved in that later. If what Guest had claimed was true, then he had bigger fish chicken to fry.
"I just... Hope this wasn't a mistaken or nothin'. Maybe if we're able to, we can get uh... "Noob" or whatever that guy's name used to be on our side and we'll have someone who'd be able to help us deal with these fuckin' freaks easier."
He internally criticized himself for not being more obvious. God, was Builderman that dense as to miss the fact he’d just called him lovable?
“It better not turn out to be a mistake. It’s the easiest damn avoidable thing there is, and I won’t ever let anybody hear the end of it if anything bad regarding him happens.”
His tone hardened slightly, unconsciously tightening the grip on his sword.
"I give ya permission to clobber my ass if it does."
-> He snorted, trying to put a bit of a joke out into the air. Although he was kind of serious about that too.
"But enough about that. Where the hell have you been, Sheds? I swear, I can't find ya sometimes!"
“I’d probably end up clobbering your ass in two ways.”
He let out a small chuckle, elbowing Builderman in the side.
“Been checking out some of the ruins around here… it truly is a sight to see at times.”
"You really are somethin', Sheds..."
-> He chuckles a little and shakes his head. He didn't pick up on the dirty joke.
"Ruins, huh? Find anythin' interestin'? Anything that could help us outta this mess or are ya just sightseein'?"
"Just sightseeing. No luck so far with finding anything, although I've seen a couple of other survivors around some of them. One was friendly enough, the other was rather skittish. Haven't gotten to know their names yet."
He shrugged. Did he have to do everything around here to get Builderman to pick up on his hints? That dense idiot...
"Hopefully we'll be able ta find somethin' soon... I wanna get us all outta here and away from these freaks sooner than later."
"And ya said ya found other survivors? Do you know where they went? Shoulda asked 'em if they wanted ta group up with us."
"I hope so too, big guy."
"And yup. Stumbled upon a couple of them. I assume they were related, they looked like it themselves." "Tried to ask the one who was willin' to talk a few questions... but the other one just rudely yanked them away from the conversation. Still, I definitely don't doubt that they're around here somewhere."
"Well... If we see 'em again then we gotta try and get 'em to join us. The more survivors the better."
"Did they have any weapons? Or like- Supplies? Maybe I can get Brickbattler to come with us if we plan on huntin' 'em down."
“Sounds peachy to me. Look out for two women in lab coats- one of them has a gun on her back. I can’t help but wonder how they’re managing in lab coats…”
He scoffs a bit at the idea. It seemed quite ridiculous, if you asked him.
"Lab coats..." -> He pauses at that, bringing his free hand up to his chin and seeming to get lost in thought for a moment. Labs coats? Scientists normally wore lab coats. So if these women could be scientists, then maybe they'd be able to take a look at Hacksaw's mask. "Those gals might be real useful to us, Sheds. And I mean REAL useful."
“If ya’ say so.”
It didn’t seem to have clicked in for him yet.
“Say, there ain’t really nothing else to do at the moment- would it hurt to have a quick scan around again for em’?”
"Yeah. That might be for the best. Did you see if anyone else was trailin' 'em? They could have a bigger group... The more the merrier, y'know? Make our group bigger, make their possible group bigger." "More survivors means we could be able to overpower these killers more... If we manage to plan shit out right."
“Possibly?… One of them was quite eager to get away, so… might’ve wanted to get back to whatever group they had. Or perhaps get away from me, but both options are possible.”
"I don't know who'd wanna get away from you, Sheds. You're a real good guy if ya ask me, hehe." -> He pats Sheds on the back and smiles down at him, his faint smile lines showing. "Where'd ya last see 'em? Best to get lookin' before it gets too dark."
“Don’t know a guy who’d wanna get away from me either!”
He picks his sword up out of the dirt, giving it a spin.
“I reckon I last saw em… around somewhere in that direction.”
He gestured in one direction, beginning to walk that way.
"Right behind ya!" -> Builderman lifts up his banhammer and rests it against his shoulder before following behind Sheds. "My legs ain't what they used ta be."
“Can’t blame you with all the sprinting you’ve been doing, big guy. Though it doesn’t make a difference to me.”
He chuckled, heading down a path away from the campsite and further into the forest.
“Beautiful things I’ve seen round’ here- it’s a shame it’s all gone to ruin.”
"I wonder what this place looked like before all of this mess... Sometimes I feel like I've been in these places, y'know? That I've been here, but I can't remember nothin'." -> He adjusts his hard hat, looking up at the sky only briefly before looking back down. "I hope I'm not the only one who's experiencin' this feelin' or whatever... I just- I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy."
"Nah. As far as I know, the feeling's all too common for everyone I've met."
He looked up at the sky as well (although he kept his eyes there), watching what little clouds there were aimlessly drift through the atmosphere.
"You ain't crazy, Builds. It sucks not being able tah' remember things most days, but I know for a fact you ain't the only one going through it."
"Thanks, Sheds. I swear you're the only one who understands me most of the time." "Ain't nobody else able ta do so like you do. Jane and Guest are too young, Brickbattler's more focused on fightin' and trainin' ta get stronger. And I don't even know what's goin' on with Bacon most of the time."
"Anythin' for my favorite buddy!"
He walked for a bit, following the pathway up to a certain point before he took a slight detour off the path, walking in another direction.
"Over here."
"Hopefully they ain't too far. Make sure that sword of yours is ready in case we get into a scarp or somethin' like that. Wouldn't want ya gettin' hurt, Sheds." "I can handle a lotta big ol' blows."
"Got it, big guy! We've got this in the bag."
He gripped his sword tightly, spinning the weapon around once or twice and taking a practice swing at the air.
"Sa' lot darker than I remember. We should hurry it up a bit."
-> Builderman stared up at the sky. Shit, it was getting dark. He squinted and shook his head slightly, looking down at Sheds. "We gotta find somewhere to hole up until it's daytime... We can keep lookin' for 'em in the morning. I don't like the idea of bein' out 'ere in the open with these.... Freaks."
Before Shedletsky could open his mouth to respond, an intense beam of light shone over the two of them, illuminating the area they stood in under a spotlight.
"Hey!"
A voice called out to them from above. One upwards swoop towards the source of the light revealed another survivor, up in a tree, holding a stage light! A white lab coat hung off of them, paired with a couple of straps and buckles clasped to their arms. They seemed to fit the description of one of the survivors Sheds had talked about earlier.
