Operation: Skyfire (zombie/post-apoc/etc thread) OPEN

Corbin was stuck there waiting boredly. He was constantly rubbing his reddened cheeks, trying to cool them off best he could but, alas, he had nothing to cool them off with. Not a drop of water, sunscreen, or even a hat to shade them in. He knew that even though the Stumblers and monsters were what most people fretted over, he was more concerned with the small things in life as those were what tended to kill the vast majority of the world's population. And what was at the top of his concerns at the moment? Sun poisoning. He had stayed outside for who knows how long with the sun relentlessly baring down on his unprotected skin without a single break. He was already sunburnt and while vitamin D3 was, in small amounts, life saving, in the amount he was absorbing it through his skin it was detrimental. He was dizzy, his skin was starting to blister, and he felt like he was about to lose his lunch, all ways your body uses to tell you to get out of the f*cking sun.

Corbin also knew if this was going to be a daily thing for a few months, he ran a high risk of developing skin cancer some point in their journey. He would get a hat and sunblock as soon as he could, but he had no time for that now. He decided the best thing to do in this situation is to protect the damaged skin and sacrifice the healthy skin until he could find a solution for this problem. He sighed and reluctantly took off the shirt he was wearing. He didn't want Bree or any one else for that matter to see him shirtless, it was embarrassing. She'd probably lecture him for being so reckless as to expose unprotected skin, or think he was trying to hit on her again. It didn't matter to him. This sunburn thing was getting unbearable for him and he'd rather live with the humiliation of Bree tell him off than die of skin cancer. Corbin took the sleeves of his shirt and tied it around his head. He also buttoned a button just underneath his chin to make sure it wouldn't be swaying in the wind and not doing any good. He looked ridiculous like that, with his obvious tan line, pale chest, and shirt over his head, but it was working. It shaded his cheeks and already he felt so much better.

Glancing down the road, he noticed the silhouette of a girl and could only guess it was Bree. He grabbed hold of Magic's reigns and waited until she got close before sending Magic back onto the interstate. He wasn't going to wait around and listen to her make fun of him or accuse him of flirting and just mentally prayed she wouldn't say anything.

OOC: It's OK. Is it your computer or is it the website?

OOC: That sucks. It's raining here like crazy though. It's flooding real bad in our area but thankfully we live up on a hill so it's not affecting us too bad. Unfortunately though schools been cancelled seeing as all the roads are flooded. That also means I have two extra days to do a project I had been waiting until the last minute to do.

IC: Corbin ignored Bree's existence for a while until he felt his embarrassment slowly die down to where it was at the very back of his mind. He felt stupid and silly wearing his clothing like this and she probably thought he did have a few mental problems, but he didn't care. That wasn't the case and the only reason he was wearing his shirt like this was because he had no glass visor in his helmet to block out the sun and he didn't want to waste freshwater to cool his skin off. This was simply the better solution in his mind somehow so he ignored the staring and possible insults she couldn't wait to hurl at him.

Corbin glanced over at Bree and nodded slowly. "Bit off more than I could chew I'm afraid, let's just hope I don't choke on it," He said. He paused for a moment to pick up his backpack in order to gesture towards it before setting it back down in the saddle. "Can't even carry my backpack on me it's too heavy. But I found fresh food and water and enough of it to last me a while." His attention then turned back towards the road. It was a rather hot day, almost too hot for the beginning of fall. Ahead of him he could see what appeared to be water on the sun baked road but he knew it was an illusion as it quickly disappeared as they got close to it. He also knew creatures were less likely to be out hunting in the extremes of weather so it was, unfortunately, the perfect time to travel. Even Stumblers seemed to prefer to stay indoors when it was hot out, and Corbin's only theory for this is because the heat simply speeds up the decomposition process. Whatever the case was didn't matter to Corbin, it was safer and he could just pray that the cool air the wind was bringing wouldn't turn heated.

"So where exactly do you plan on heading?" Corbin asked after a long moment of silence. "I hope you have an actual place in mind and not just hoping there'd be a safe building for you to call home." He had heard nothing about her plans for when they actually got to their destination. All Corbin had heard plan-wise was to just keep heading North and frankly Corbin was starting to doubt if she even had a plan. If that was the case, he would have much rather stayed in the apartments where he was guaranteed shelter than going on a crazy adventure that he might not even survive just for a maybe promise land.

Corbin stopped Magic the second he saw the weeds that were growing. There was nothing like them back in his little city and he had no idea what they were. Was it dangerous? Was it a creature? Was it going to attack him? All questions he was not prepared to ask Bree as she seemed to be a little frustrated with him for some reason.

Corbin then turned his head towards Bree and watched her carefully, trying to pick up hints as to whether or not he could go through the grass. Seeing as how Bree had stopped in her tracks, however, it was obvious that these posed some kind of danger, he just wasn't entirely sure what. They could be poisonous but it could also be like those giant venus fly traps you'd see in cheap horror movies that tries to eat the hero. Whatever it was, he wasn't prepared to go through them for even though there might not be any danger in the grass itself, it was also the perfect spot for a predator to ambush its unsuspecting prey. He pulled Magic's reigns and redirected her off the highway and into the woods to go around the blades of grass. The only problem, however, is that they continued to go on before about 25 yards before Corbin stopped Magic in her tracks. He saw no visable end to the wall of vegitation and he couldn't just keep going like this for fear of getting lost. He then turned Magic back around and they headed back towards the freeway. "Now what?" Corbin asked Bree, looking over at the blades of grass.

OOC: Low muse :/

Corbin sighed and started to shake his head before slowing it to a stop. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Magic here, not even for a second. He could try and say that there would be a point where the grass stopped, but Bree wouldn't care. She wanted to keep going and wouldn't just sit there and wait for him to go around. There was one problem, however, with her theory: How was he supposed to cut down a tree? The largest weapon he had to cut with would be his army knife and he wouldn't be able to bring a tree down with it.

"I'll cut it down but with what? All I got with me is my army knife and that isn't going to be cutting a tree down any time soon," He said. He was fully prepared to try and find a way around the grass but he didn't move from his spot. He was afraid Bree would leave him if he tried to do it his way and that couldn't happen, not after all these years of being alone. "Any other ideas?"

OOC: Usually I sit there and type it in one go. Which explains why some of the information I type has holes in it and it's sometimes crappy and doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

IC: Corbin sighed and sat down on the pavement as he just waited for Bree. He hated it when she lectured him, it made him feel inferior and stupid. Well that was coming from a guy wearing a shirt on his head so could he really blame her for thinking he was a little off? No, he really couldn't as sometimes the actions he performs confuses even him at some moments. It was stupid how he even thought that she might even like Corbin. The only reason she was with this man was because he might be useful later down the road. Entirely for personal gain so maybe he should just follow her and lose that crazy crush he had. It was only hurting him so how could losing that emotional attachment towards Bree be more destructive than keeping it?

Corbin then jumped to his feet when he heard what sound like someone walking away. Was Bree leaving? He backed up and tried to see over the grass but was unable to. She wasn't just abandoning him like that, was she? Of course not. He couldn't leave the spot to look for her, as when she got back Corbin was in for another lecture if she didn't leave by that time. So instead, Corbin just sat down where he was, and waited and hoped she came back. It was going to be dark out in a few hours so it would leave Corbin in a bad situation to be separated from Bree by a man-eating plant from hell where even worse monsters could come and end Corbin's life.

OOC: Yeah but after this day do you want to go ahead and timeskip to when they actually do arrive up north? It will take who knows how long to get there and I have a feeling them just getting up, traveling, having a near death experience, road block, traveling some more, going to bed will be just a daily thing and that's already a little boring.

IC: Corbin was assured that she wasn't quite leaving him just yet when he heard someone hacking away at a tree. He could only guess it was Bree for some reason unknown to him. It put his mind at ease to say the least and allowed him to slip away into his own thoughts, something he had not done in a while. He daydreamed of the future, where the road will lead him. He often liked to imagine how the world was before his time, before he took his first breath as an infant. He couldn't help but feel jealous at how safe it must have been, knowing you won't wake up the next morning to find some strange creature chewing on your limbs. He also feel a small flare of hatred and anger towards them at the same time. They had, for a long time, known what was coming. They had seen this world and had seen almost every creature before they even existed. But what had they done? Sat back and wrote books and movies about how to prepare for it instead of trying to prevent it. It was preventable in every way possible considering all the time they had to try and prevent it, but they had done no such thing. Instead they had sat back on their a**es and watched it play out before them like a movie. His mother was dead because of that, his father too. Neither of their deaths would have happened if it wasn't for this world that humanity created. Bree probably had causalities in her family as well, seeing how people were dropping dead left and right nowadays. Yet he doubted if she had any full concept of what she would be doing by destroying this world, for it would create an older world with pain and suffering and bloodshed, yet in a different kind. He had no idea why the older civilization would seem more appealing to her. It was filled with greedy people who cared about nothing but greed, cold blooded killers much like this one, abusive rulers that muzzled their people, and bankrupt families with no say in their future, in their kids' future. If that was the world Bree truly wanted, he would help with that goal with no question, but he also feared it would be a decision he would later regret.

Then he heard Bree call out a warning to him and he very well took heed in it. Corbin stood to his feet before backing up to a safe distance, pulling Magic's reigns to keep her out of the boulder's path as well. Once he saw a path cleared through the grass with the boulder, Corbin mounted Magic before directing her carefully through the grass. Once out, he stopped Magic and looked over at Bree. "Thank you," He said with a small, friendly smile. It was somewhat forced but you could hardly tell. His face then returned to its usual default setting that gave away no further emotions before asking, "Ready to keep going?"

Corbin was not used to the cold in any sense. Down in the South they only had a summer and a fall, never a winter. And while it was true, it was still fall or near the end of it, it was already as cold as it got in the dead of winter back in his city. It only made him wonder how many more digits he was going to lose due to frost bite, he only had the nine. He had only a light coat on and a beanie, which he had replaced for his helmet when he had, unfortunately, broke due to one hard hit in the head. He also sported a somewhat overgrown beard. Usually he kept his facial hair trimmed to where it only covered the edge of his chin, but he had no opportunity to shave in all that time so it had gotten a little unmanaged, something he was definitely going to fix when he got the chance.

Corbin didn't really expect the journey to ever end. He had been traveling for all that time and he honestly just expected them to keep going northward and northward until they couldn't go any further North. It felt... weird to actually arrive in a destination he had never thought he would reach. He had anticipated at times that he would drop dead sometime during their trip. When he noticed Brooke come to a stop in the middle of nowhere, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he asked, "What's up? Why are we stopping?"

Corbin nodded slowly and looked around. This was going to be where he called home for the winter? Where he'll have both good and bad memories? A place he might die at one day? He had expected more to be honest. He expected a giant plot of land with a fenced in field that overlooked the mountains, but this was the more probable one. After their shelter was finished, he'd probably go out and build a fence for protection and this one with more exits than one. It was a nice thought to think, as this place held promise for his future. But still, what about Magic's? He had found nothing to keep her warm this coming winter and he couldn't rely on fire. How was it going to help any animal? They instinctually feared the heat source. He'd have to tie her to a tree just for this fire to be useful in keeping her warm, and she'd still freak out more than likely. He wasn't going to set one for Magic, as he much rather just have her bask in the small amount of sun light than freak out over a little fire.

Corbin than dismounted Magic before unsaddling her. He'd go off the find firewood for the fire quickly and then come back to help with whatever Bree needed help with. He walked off into the tree line and as soon as he did, started hacking off low hanging branches with his army knife. He mentally tracked the amount he was carrying before he thought he might have enough. He then walked back over towards Bree and set the branches down on the grass. "So now what? Want me to dig a hole or set this grass on fire with the wood?" He asked and while he waited for an answer, he didn't need one. He was going to dig a hole for it anyways whether she said to or not.

Corbin sighed and looked up at the sky. The fog was much thinner out past the points of civilization, something he had realized on the journey North, but this was as thin as he's ever seen it. The fog had spots where it was so thin that he could actually see the light seeping out through it. He even saw a bit of blue where the fog created a small hole a little bit east. What that usually meant was less air pollution so less monsters to worry about. Back in the South it also usually meant a wet year with more rain storms than he could count on his finger. In the sizzling hot summer, that was a good thing, a blessing even, but in the winter it just meant more ice and more snow. What did that mean in the next coming months? Blizzards and hail storms no doubt, which wouldn't really bother him too much if it wasn't for a giant lizard that was having a hard enough time in 50 degree weather. He'd have a short amount of time to prepared for this, but he might be able to forage enough spare supplies to make Magic a shelter that protected her from the worst of it. Hell, he'd have enough supplies to build her a freaking mansion, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was having enough time to build one before the first snow fell. He'd have to wait to start that, however, until he was finished helping Bree build herself a cabin. It was human safety over animal's, even though Corbin had a nagging feeling Bree would make him sleep outside with Magic if he did manage to build that.

Corbin wasn't going to worry about that now, however. He had enough on his plate and he wasn't going to be starting that today that's for sure. Instead, he let it slip to the back of his mind as he watched Bree. "So what exactly now?" He asked. He had no idea what to do from here. He had no idea what Bree wanted him to do from here. He knew Bree was going to make him at least help with it, but he wasn't sure what kind of help she was looking for. He didn't know if she wanted him to nail wood together or hold her hammer for her. He wasn't going to argue, however, if she didn't trust him enough to do any actual work. If she thought Corbin was too untrustworthy with a hammer and nails, well then that was her problem. To be honest, he had no idea how much trust Bree had for him. It must've improved somewhat but he still expected her to sleep with a knife under her pillow in case he got any "funny ideas". He didn't know if she saw him as a friend or a tool, and he didn't know what he saw her as either. Yes, he still carried that small crush with him but for the entire two months he's swallowed it down and let it slowly die away in his stomach, even though it's yet to go away fully. He hasn't mentioned anything of the sort to her and as far as he could tell neither has Bree. It would be nice to know what she thought of him, of course, as it would be easier to tell how he should act around her, however, he wasn't going to ask. He wouldn't get a straight forward answer nor a reliable one. It would be filled with rage and emotions that he had not seen since he had kissed her, and frankly he'd rather do a swan dive into a volcano than reawaken those emotions. So, he'd let her tell him if she wanted to but wouldn't dare ask it himself.