oasismods | March Test Drive Meme

March Test Drive Meme

Test Drive Meme #2

Fire and Ice

Days. Four of them, to be exact. Those four days--four days and four nights--have been nothing but rain of varying intensities, but it hasn't stopped. It pours down in heavy torrents, sweeping away the grime and decay of the crumbling city. It floods the banks of the oasis and it drowns all nearby plants. To the point; it's a right pain to anyone hunting for game. Everything has taken refuge to higher grounds. Well, everything except the infected. They seem confused by this phenomenon. It rouses them from their dormant states and pushes them to be more active. If you find yourself out and about in the rain, you may want to bring a decent weapon with you and a friend to watch your back. ~~Or to trip should you find yourself in trouble.~~

What's worse than all that precipitation, you ask? Why would you even ask that? Haven't you seen a single horror movie? Well, since you asked; what's worse than rain is hail. How could that possibly make the situation more dire? You aren't worried about the insurance on your car, so who cares? You're sure full of dangerous questions, aren't you?

Hail impacts the ground, the buildings, the cars, and the wall with a mighty raucous. The sound as it hits the pavement is deafeningly louder than the sound it makes when it impacts the waterlogged earth, slowed by the trees blocking its descent. It won't take long at all before the group of survivors holed up in the city will notice a mass of shambling Iraites beginning to congregate against the walls and gates, attracted by the noise. They're toppling over each other and pressing against the boundaries. The gate looks like it might buckle under all that weight like a dam about to burst. You might wanna do something about reinforcing that gate, or maybe even start taking out the horde if you can. There are still hunters and gatherers out in the forest. If they come back to this mess, they'll never make it into the city alive.

If that's not enough trouble, you suddenly have another problem. Between the rain and the hail and the infected, a loud crack of lightning hits a tree near one of the crash sites. You can see the smoke all the way from the city and it lights up the edge of the forest. But that's so far away, how could it pose any trouble? You ask, because you obviously have a death wish. Well friend, you may recall a certain crashed shuttle in about that very direction. Such a thing is leaking some rather potent accelerant. Find a way to contain that fire or you won't have to worry about the infected anymore. You won't have to worry about much when the blaze takes out the forest and creeps through the city with a lazy hunger that cannot be sated.

[Mod Note: Pick any scenario, mix and match, or combine them all into one chaotic mess of death and mayhem. Feel free to do a crash scenario from the first TDM. Enjoy~]

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It's raining. That's the first thing she notices as she slowly wakes, other than the fierce ache in her body that reminded her of what being in a car crash was supposed to feel like. But that didn't make sense; she'd just been talking with Reg about the meeting Deanna was calling, and there hadn't been a cloud in the sky or a car in sight.

Maggie blinked into the dim light and tried to move, her hands lifting to grope at the straps that were holding her in place. What? She was in some kind of... well, it reminded her of one of those pods that you sometimes saw in sci-fi movies. The ones that only fit a single person. But it was also kind of like a high-tech coffin with how enclosed it was, the thought of which only served to send her adrenaline levels sky-high. No. No. She had to stay calm, and she had to get out of there. She had to find Glenn and the others, figure out how she'd gotten there and what the hell was going on.

Unhooking the straps was easy. Figuring out how to get out of the pod thing, that was a little more difficult. It wasn't night, there was too much light for that, but with all the clouds in the sky and the rain on the glass, it might as well have been. In all her fumbling around to find something to release the glass or a hatch or something, she found the backpack at her feet, and that was when she really started to panic. This hadn't been her people, they wouldn't leave anyone on their own like this and she couldn't seen any other pods out there. No, someone had done this to her, to them, and she didn't know who or why. But they'd left her with supplies and somehow that was more terrifying than if she'd just been dumped somewhere with nothing. Though it was practically nothing - they'd taken her weapons.

Something finally popped loose and she was able to swing the glass open, a torrent of rain rushing into the pod and instantly soaking her to the bone. "Glenn!" The first thing out of her mouth was a shout of her husband's name as she blinked against the rain "Rick! Daryl!" She couldn't see anything other than trees and a fire in the distance and -- walkers.

Two of them, moving toward her, attracted by her shouting more than likely. It was pure instinct to reach for the knife at her hip, except it wasn't there. She should have remembered that. "Shit."

He'd been appreciative of the rain, at first. It brought back certain moments that he'd lived with his extended family; with his wife. A moment of pure hope when things had been so very dire. It didn't have that exact feeling, but one couldn't help how they'd relate things in their head. At least, most of the time. Regardless, that initial feeling had dissipated sometime near the end of the second day; the sense of hope having dwindled to a curiosity of 'when would it stop already?' It was what it was, of course.

And then the crashes came. They all knew by then that they'd have people in them; maybe some of their own. It was always possible. Frightening as it was. So, Glenn set out in the weather towards the touchdown point; hoping that this time, there wasn't a large number of deaths like the last one. Being glad that Maggie or any of the rest of their family had not been in the party of the deceased. It would have been too much, otherwise. He didn't even let himself process those thoughts in full; he kept telling himself that she was still home, safe behind the walls. Even if she didn't know where the hell he'd gone, it'd be okay. She'd keep going.

He saw the shape of the pod before he noticed it was a one person ride, or before it registered with him. And he saw movement; his steps taking him in closer, only stopping to dispatch a walker as swiftly as he could. Seeing the rest of them coming in, knowing that the passenger of the pod would be in a lot of danger - and there he was, putting himself in the thick of it, too. It was what it was, they had to help each other.

And then, he heard his name. Her voice. His heart dropped, then rose again. Not sure if he should laugh because of joy or scream because he didn't want her dropped in this place. But, she was there. She was alive. And he would get her to what they were calling home.

"Maggie!" Was his call in return, not thinking to switch his earpiece on so Daryl would know. He wasn't thinking of anything but her then. Making his way to her as fast as he could.

What could she do? Run, try to take them down with - what had been in the backpack? a flashlight? - or get back in the pod thing and hope that someone friendly happened along. The last one wasn't her favorite option by far. Her family was out there somewhere. They could be trapped or hurt and just sitting around hoping not to be eaten wasn't something she could do. And her chances with the flashlight weren't the best either, the thing was too small to do much damage.

So running it was. She could lose them and circle back, try to find the others. Maybe they were in pods like her, just somewhere else...

Maggie was about to make a break for it when she heard that voice calling her name. The voice she'd recognize anywhere. "Glenn." He was there, racing toward, and right toward the walkers.

New plan. She did run, but to him, backpack clutched in both hands and ready to use as a shield to shove away anything that wasn't her husband that tried to grab her.

Again, he stopped, almost sliding in the mix of water and ground; blade going right home in the walker that met him. Glenn's face showed centered concentration; the power of his swing. The walker lurched towards him with a hiss, hoping to make a meal of him - but it met the business end of his knife. The thing quieting before Glenn drew the blade away as hastily as logic allowed. He continued on, bullheaded aim to be at her side the only thing he felt.

She was running to him, too - he could see her in the rain, his eyes taking in her surroundings with more concern than what his own were. It was almost catastrophe on his end. Another walker came. He'd let out a grunt on that impact, the thing almost knocking him down; gnashing teeth too close for comfort. Glenn had caught his footing at the last second, pushing back at the thing hard - and when he'd gotten the walker down instead? He'd ended it with a boot to the side of the skull; kicking it in to a well-placed rock. When he looked up from that, Maggie was right there.

Right there.

"Maggie!" His voice filled with relief as they met in the rain, reaching for her. Taking her in his arms quickly while he kept his eyes on their surroundings.

Her heart was in her throat when she saw the walker get too close. A shout of warning was on her lips too late, but he had it, he took it down, and Glenn was still standing when she finally reached him. Her feet sank into the layers of rain and mud as she let go of the backpack with one hand to wrap her arms around him, clinging to him as if he were the only sane thing in her world. Because he was.

"Glenn!" It was a quiet gasp of relief at having him there and safe with her, of knowing he was alright even if the same couldn't said about the rest of their family. Maggie wanted to kiss him desperately, to drown in him like they were drowning in this damn rain, but they couldn't risk it with walkers around. So she pressed a quick but firm kiss to his cheek before pulling back to ask, "Where are the others?"

There were a million questions she needed to ask, but that was the most important one. She scanned the area around them as if she would find them there, but all she saw were the same trees from before and the veritable lake that was collecting on the ground that was too saturated to hold the water falling from the sky. Thankfully, there weren't any other walkers in sight, but they weren't naïve enough to think it would stay that way.

He smiled at her, his eyes finding her's; the well of relief within him bubbling over. God, he loved her so much. Even if he'd hoped she'd be spared this weirdness, he couldn't deny that he was happy to see her. To hold her as he was doing right then, even if they needed to clear out and get themselves back to the city. A second, though; he needed to make sure she was alright. Even if she'd been running, even if they were standing there in the rain. He stroked her cheek and smiled as she kissed his. "You alright, babe?" Voiced filled with concern. "I know touch down isn't fun; I woke up feeling like everything was spinning." He moved away enough so he could slide his hands over her arms; let his eyes catch over her face, her form. Taking a visual inventory; even if he knew she'd tell him, he couldn't help the need to look and be certain for himself.

"Daryl's in the city now." He stated. "We should get back there. We haven't seen any one else from home, but we're with other people. There's a lot to tell you, Mags." Something like a smile flickered over his face. Then, it seemed another thing of importance hit him. "Oh, hey - check your bag; there's an earpiece in there. We can talk to everyone. They're really great, even if it can be an auditory clusterfuck sometimes." Thinking on it a second time, he decided it was time to call in the good news.

The little thing clicked to life; so Daryl could be kept up to date. "Hey, Daryl. I got Maggie; we're going to head in. If we see anyone else on the way, we'll grab them."

The rain didn't matter, the aching in her muscles didn't matter, or the fact that some very weird shit was going on. The love of her life was there with her, her rock, the only home she could always count on. She smiled at his concern, nodding as he checked her over. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Just sore, no permanent damage." If there had been something serious, she would have told him without hesitation. There were too many things that could go wrong if injuries were brushed off as minor when they weren't, and she wasn't foolish enough to consider doing that.

But the way he was talking, it sounded like none of this was a big surprise to him. That meant he'd been there long enough to adjust and accept things. How was that possible, though? It hadn't been that long since she'd seen him, it didn't make sense. Daryl was there, though. That was good, at least they knew someone else was alright. And having other people was good too - if they were with Glenn and Daryl, that meant they were good and trustworthy, and they needed that badly if they were going to make it out of this situation.

Pulling back enough to reach into her backpack, she fished around a bit, watching as Glenn activated his earpiece while she found her own. A few seconds later, she was slipping it into place.

"Maggie? Maggie came down in one of them? Shit. Okay. Get her and get back here as fast as you can. The hail's doing us no good. Making too much noise. The gates are getting hammered. We're sending ropes over further down the wall to get people inside without drawing the walker's attention, but we need all the hands we can to hold this thing."

Edited 2016-03-02 23:40 (UTC)

"Shit." About the wall, because that meant nothing good, but they'd be there to hold it with the rest as soon as they got in. "Alright. We're on our way, man." Glenn replied; his hand having sought Maggie's when one was freed up, his fingers squeezing her's gently once he'd taken them. He was glad to have her there, even if his levels of worry had just spiked considerably. Glenn watched her face, having not seen when or if she'd turned the earpiece on in time to hear what had been said. It added to that 'a lot to tell you about' he'd already made a statement on. Or, well, it might have helped a little with it all, depending. For the moment, though? They needed to get their asses away from the pod, and on to the city and find the ropes.

"Here, take this. I'll grab that stone from under the walker there." He handed the knife Daryl had given him over to her, wanting her to have it. Glenn was already pushing the walker to the side with his boot; keeping himself alert to their surroundings while he waited for her to take the gift from his hand.

He'd be good with the rock.

Edited 2016-03-03 22:54 (UTC)

She'd followed the prompting to state her name and the earpiece had turned on in the middle of Daryl's message. It had been a relief to hear that familiar, gruff voice, but his actual words had swept that relief away like the falling rain. None of it was good, and she couldn't help but be a little angry at the universe that they never seemed to catch a break. They'd finally found a haven in Alexandria, and now they had to end up like this? She might not know anything about what was going on, but she knew walkers, and that meant they had to get a move on.

"How far is it to the wall?" she asked him quietly, her tone completely serious and a little worried over their present situation. He was going to arm himself with a rock? That didn't bode well, but she knew better than to argue with him over it. So she slipped on the backpack and took the knife from him, adjusting her grip on it while watching him retrieve his new weapon with a frown.

When he picked up the rock, he'd glanced up in time to see that frown on her face. Before he could help it, he gave her a slightly sheepish grin; knowing that the rock wasn't the best line of defense. It was something he could work with, though. And if something better came to light on their way back to the city, he would switch out for that instead. Still, he straightened himself to stand, fingers curled around the rough curves of the stone. It was slick, but the shape of it made it easier to grip. It wouldn't escape him, especially not in the time of need.

"Not too far." He stated in response to Maggie's question, nodding in the direction as he followed up his answer with the estimate of travel time. The rain would make it a more difficult journey, but they both knew that. He didn't need to add it in. "Ready, babe?"

That sheepish look on his face was one she knew so well from the early days of their relationship, the lines of that expression engraved forever in her memory. It warmed her heart to see it now, even as the cold rain seeped further into her clothing.

She was as ready as she'd ever be, but there was one thing she needed before she could go on. "Just one thing," she said quietly before reaching up to hook her free hand around the back of his neck and pull him in close. She pressed her lips to his, a firm, quick kiss to give them both strength. Her fingers brushed back the wet strands of hair that were clinging to the side of his face as she pulled back, and she finally nodded. "Now I'm ready. Let's go."

For a moment, there was a curious expression on his face; but realization of her want came really fast. He leaned in to her, tasting her lips and feeling the affection they shared. For a moment, everything else was drowned in her presence; the softness of her mouth, her scent. The sheer presence of her there with him. Glenn felt whole.

"Oh, was that all?" He asked, when they'd parted from that show of love - the grin on his face teasing; and he leaned in to steal another kiss before they were off on the trek back to the wall. It was like getting a jolt of strength, really; but then, she was always like that for him. It was part of who she was. He caressed her cheek with his rock-free hand, then reached down to take her knife-free one; wanting to feel her for a few minutes while they were clear aside from the rain and could take a breath or two just to be there. He'd let go after a second; both of them knew they would stick close, but they'd need to be freed up to make certain they could move.

Beth would know that voice anywhere. She had heard it for so long now that it came as a relief after being without it for so long. Being at Grady Memorial Hospital wasn't a good time in her life, but it was a time of growth all the same. And she had no idea how she had gone from being there to being here but her sister was close by and that was all that she needed to make her way over toward the sound of Maggie's voice.

"Maggie?" She shouted as she ran, the rain and hail making it difficult to see where she was going.

She was so caught up in trying to find her sister that she didn't take notice of the walkers at all.

"MAGGIE!" She screamed, drawing the attention of the walkers over to her. It wasn't until they were advancing on her that she realized she was in trouble, and it was with every ounce of effort she possessed that she tried to run over to the pod she could see was close by. Maggie was so close, she wasn't about to let walkers get in her way. She ran until she was close enough to grab at her sister's hand, and knew that they had to run to get away from this area. She didn't have a weapon and she couldn't be sure Maggie did either. It was either run or fight, and Beth had been through enough fighting recently that she didn't feel any shame in retreat.

Maggie! The shout had her turning away from the approaching walkers, scanning the area as much as she could with the raging storm. That voice. It couldn't be. But there it was again, loud and real and--

She was losing her mind. That was the only logical explanation. Or dreaming, but the barrage of hail and rain was bordering on downright painful, so that didn't make much sense. Not that any of this did - waking up in some sci-fi pod thing, hearing the voice of her dead little sister. What would be next, seeing her daddy strolling by with an umbrella?

No, what actually happened was so much worse and better, all at the same time. Her sister was suddenly there, grabbing her hand, and it felt so real even though it couldn't be. Beth was gone, unable even to rise again like those walkers, but it definitely wasn't a walker whose hand she held.

"Beth?" she asked in a voice that was full of disbelief, both at what she was seeing and feeling and at the very idea that she was addressing this moment at all. It had finally happened, the apocalyptic conditions of their world had worn her down and broken her. What would Glenn think when she found him?

But despite her inability to believe that what was happening was actually reality, one hand still clutched at the thing that couldn't be her sister while the other held tightly to the backpack of supplies.

Beth only gave herself a matter of seconds to look confused and wonder about her sister's tone when saying her name. She knew well enough to not question it out in the open when they were in trouble, so she saved questioning for later and clung hold of Maggie's hand so they could run together. The ground was muddy and slippery, but Beth managed to get her footing with only sliding a little.

"We've gotta run! I don't have anything to fight the walkers with." And she wasn't about to let her sister fight them and wind up getting hurt or worse, not when they deserve to have this reunion. Beth had been so worried after leaving the prison with Daryl, afraid of what might happen to the last of her family. But here Maggie was, with her, and no matter how hard the rain came down and how many walkers came at them, Beth wasn't about to let her sister go.

"There's trees on up ahead. We can lose them in there!"

It was instinct to follow her sister, even if it couldn't really be her, and Maggie kept a firm hold of that hand as she struggled not to fall into the layers of mud that refused to give any traction. Not Beth was right, they had to move, those walkers wouldn't care if she'd gone nutty, they'd still have her for dinner in a heartbeat.

And what if Beth was real? What if somehow this was really her sister? Maggie clung to that silly, baseless hope and pushed herself to run a little faster, sparing only a second to marvel at how the youngest Greene girl was taking charge of the situation. Daddy would have been so proud of her for it. If she was real, Maggie would be proud too, and she would protect her with everything she had.

"We lose them, then we look for Glenn and the others," she said between gasps of air, risking a glance back to see if there were other walkers coming. All she had to do was take this one step at a time and they would make it out of there alive. Both of them. If this was really Beth. And oh how she hoped it was...

"Glenn's here?" Beth can't help but sound relieved at that, even if her voice is breathy from the exertion of running. It was something to be praised, Glenn being alive and well and with them. Not only for Maggie's sake, but because he was family and they needed to stay together.

Beth let Maggie lead the way to the forest, and it was only once they were so deep in the trees that the rain wasn't fully falling on them because of the cover that Beth came to a stop. Her legs were aching and her lungs were burning, and she had to stop to catch her breath. Whatever walkers there had been looked like they were gone now, so she relaxed enough to press her back up against a tree. She leaned her head against it for a few seconds before leaning forward, resting her hands on her knees.

She lifted her head once she was able to breathe better, and ignored the way the rain was still falling enough to trickle down her face so she could get a good look at her sister. Maggie was fine, safe and with her, just the way she remembered. Her hand went to her cheek, trying to cover the gash that she knew would scar. She wasn't the same girl that Maggie had parted ways with back at the prison. She was stronger now, a grown woman. She wasn't letting herself be a sheltered little girl any longer.

She stared for a few moments until the emotion built enough that she was crying, and it was with a good amount of force for someone so small that she moved forward to embrace Maggie as tight as she could. She pressed her forehead against her sister's shoulder, trying to muffle the sound of her relieved and happy sob.

"I missed you, so much. I didn't think - " She cut herself off there, refusing to admit that she hadn't thought she would ever get to hug Maggie like this again. It was too shameful to admit.

When they finally stopped running for a moment, Maggie set a hand on a nearby tree, leaning her weight into it as she watched this girl who couldn't be her sister. But she had to be. The little things that signaled Beth were all there - the way she held herself and moved, the quirks in her facial expressions, the cadence of her voice. The only options were that she was really Beth Greene, or that this ghost's sister had lost her mind.

The more she saw, though, the more she started to believe. That cut on her cheek, the one she was trying so hard to cover, Beth had had a cut just like that. Maggie had seen it when they'd buried the body, when she'd been forced to say goodbye to the only blood relation she'd had left in this cruel, dying world. And it hadn't looked any more healed than the one she wore now. But how. How was any of this happening? How could her sister be there when she was supposed to be dead?

It was only when Beth was suddenly wrapped around her that Maggie realized the truth: that the truth didn't matter one bit. Beth was there. She was alive, and Maggie had a chance at keeping her safe, at making sure she found her own husband and lived to a ripe old age full of happy memories.

Because her sister was alive.

Maggie clung to her, holding on with all her strength and wishing she never had to let go. It was futile to try to keep the tears in, and she pressed a kiss to Beth's rain-soaked hair. "I missed you too," she said with a ragged breath that tried to turn into a sob. "You have no idea."

Beth couldn't say anything for a long time. All she could do was sob and cling hold of Maggie, and let the emotion make its way through her. Her small body trembled with the force of her crying, but the longer her sister hugged her, the more still and quiet she became. It was only when she had worked the tears out of her system that she lifted her head, but didn't move out of that hug.

"I think I have an idea." It was said with all the stubborn determination of a younger sister who didn't want the elder to think they didn't understand something, and it almost felt like they hadn't been separated at all the second she said it out loud.

"I don't know how we ended up in the same place together like this, but I'm gonna choose to be grateful. No matter what's going on here, we can handle it because we're together again." She moved out of the hug at long last, but took hold of Maggie's hand as she did. She didn't want to let her sister go, afraid that if she did, Maggie might slip away.

It was hard to be strong in the face of the gift she'd been given, but Maggie managed it somehow, mostly keeping herself together to support Beth while she cried and worked all that emotion out. She would do the same herself later, after they'd found Glenn and the others, when they were somehow safe.

It was equally hard not to smile at that show of determination, the stubbornness that she'd dealt with for so many years and missed so fiercely these past weeks. She'd missed her so much.

Maggie gave her a sister a slightly trembling smile and nodded at her words, squeezing the hand holding hers. "You're right. So long as we're together, we can handle anything." Perhaps it was silly to believe such things, especially looking around at their present circumstances, but she too couldn't be anything but grateful for their reunion. "I don't know where the others are, but they have to be around here somewhere. Glenn, Rick, Daryl. We'll find them, and they'll be so glad to see you."

"You've seen Daryl?" She doesn't hide the relief in her voice, because she had been so worried about him when she woke up in the hospital. He had become very important to her, so she smiled as she knew that he was likely just as alright as she was.

"He was with me, when we left the prison. I wouldn't have made it without him. I owe him a lot." Which meant that she did what Daryl would do and held her head high as she pulled away from Maggie and took to walking through the trees. They would find someplace safe to rest, but knew that if they stayed still for too long it was just asking for trouble.

"Where do you think we are, anyway?"

She was going to have to tell her. Maggie knew that, knew it like she knew the sun would rise, but that didn't mean she liked it. How did you tell someone that they had been dead and buried for weeks? That they had been mourned by loved ones who were now just trying to continue with their lives?

It wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to having.

"I have no idea," she admitted without hesitation, hooking the backpack over both her shoulders so she could keep her hands free while she moved to follow her sister. "I woke up in this... thing, feeling like I'd just been in a car crash, and I don't remember how I got there." Shaking her head, she frowned and scanned the trees around them. "I haven't seen any of the others here yet, but Daryl's alright, don't worry."

She had to tell her before they found Daryl. She just didn't know where to start.

"It does feel like we just walked away from a car crash," Beth agreed, bringing a hand up to rub at her shoulder. Her whole body was sore, but her busted chin from trying to climb up on the pod she had woken up in was the worst of it.

"But it wasn't. It was some kind of thing out of a sci-fi movie, Maggie. Someone put us in those things, and brought us here."

She stopped walking long enough to turn and give Maggie a serious look. She had been taken by the people at Grady, and didn't like that she had been taken once again and dropped off someplace she didn't know. She was so sick of being weak, of having people think they could control her destiny.

"It's not safe here. Nowhere is, but I get a really bad feeling about being here."

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March Test Drive Meme

Maggie Greene | The Walking Dead

HEY YOU!!!! <333

OHAI. Fancy seeing you here. :D

I know, who'd have thought, right? XD

All the <3

<3 to you too, darlin <3

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idek, she broke. but she'll walk it off. XD

sorry, Maggie!

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