Post by Rock114 on Jan 10, 2014 21:44:48 GMT
Hey folks. It kind of bugged me how Roman just showed up at the end of All That Remains as a corpse, given how important he was in 400 Days. This story is just how I think it could have played out, and I just figured that I'd share it here. It's already all written out, but I'll be posting in parts because it's a bit long. Feedback appreciated, as always, and if you guys like it I'll put the rest of it up over time.
Since it's already written, you'll never hear anything about "Coming Soon". Anything you guys let me know that I can improve on, I'll go back and edit the upcoming parts again in Word, or if I release a truly abominable chapter, I can edit IT then repost if necessary. So, here it is. What exactly happened to Roman after his path took him Down by the River...
“Holy shit. Check this out, John!”
“Dan, what are you… oh man, we hit pay dirt! Clive, come see this!”
Roman rolled his eyes. “Remember the rules? We have to be quiet when we’re out.” He gently paced over to where John, Dan, and now Clive had gathered. The other members of the group, Conner and Beth, joined them. Most of them were too focused on their findings to be cautious, much to Roman’s dismay. “Conner, keep a lookout, would you?” Obeying without a word, Conner brought the rifle up and scanned the area all around for the slightest movement or noise that could give away any threats. He had good ears, and it would take a professional to get the drop on them with a soldier like Conner on watch. You could never be too careful these days, and Roman hadn’t survived this long just to take a bullet because everyone else decided that fish were more important than perimeter security.
The rest, however, felt differently. “You guys think that there are any more around? It’s been forever since I’ve had fresh fish,” Beth exclaimed. Roman snapped at them again.
“I didn’t realize Clive and I had joined up with a bunch of kindergartners,” he spat, and pushed his way to the middle of the group. “When I say quiet, I mean quiet! Someone had to have put these here, and they might just be coming back for them.” He gave the newly discovered fish traps a long look. It had been days since they had eaten more than bits of foliage, so everyone had become a little excited at the thought of actual food. Their supplies had run out over a week ago, and they had subsisted on what little they could find in the forest, and water from the river. Even he had to admit that the thought of actual food was nearly too much to stave off. Nearly. It was still no goddamn excuse to let their guard down. Not in his group. He began barking orders, determined to keep these people alive despite themselves.
“Conner, you and Clive take the rifles and establish a perimeter,” he said, pointing each of them to where he wanted them to begin. Clive would cross the river completely, and take up a position just inside the forest on the other side. Conner would stay on this side, and take up his own position in the trees nearer to their current immediate area. “Dan, Beth, I want you two to cross over to that sandbar in the middle of the river and see if there are any more traps. John, as our professional outdoorsman, I want you to take care of those fish. We need something to eat, and I don’t trust anyone to get those fish in one piece as much as you. I’ll stay here and watch your back. Everyone got it?” They all nodded, Beth and Dan giving the fish trap one last, hungry glance before they began crossing over to the sandbar.
They had been following the river since they had come to the forest, relying on John to try and catch some food for them. He had convinced them that the river had to lead somewhere, and as their expert on all things outdoors, they had taken his word. They hadn’t found much of anything. Well, I think we know why, now. He guessed that the traps had been catching what little fish had been travelling the stream, and that none had made it far enough downriver to be caught by his new group. Just as well, really. Those crude fishing poles John had constructed looked more like twigs with bits of twine attached to the ends than anything sturdy.
As Conner stepped silently into the trees nearby, whispering that he was going to observe a small, makeshift trail he’d found, Roman’s thoughts drifted back to his old group, and how it had seemed to fall apart so quickly. Clive had been the only one he found after that fiasco with those raiders, when their second attack had taken Joyce. Their walls had been overrun before they knew what had happened, with a dozen screaming killers howling for their blood. The assault had come only a day or so after he had caught Stephanie stealing supplies from them, and he had been taking inventory when the first shots rang out. Only a stroke of luck allowed him to escape through the fence in back, tearing away a few loose boards that he hadn’t noticed before, and begin running as fast as he could once clear. After nearly a day of travel, the sobering reality hit him: he was alone. Shel and Becca were missing, along with Clive, and Boyd had been killed as well. Joyce was also dead. Stephanie had to be put down after she had been caught with most of their ammo and medicine. How long had it taken since that first break in? Two weeks? Was that how long it had taken for everything to come down around him? A week later, he reunited with Clive by chance, and after that, they encountered their new group. He couldn't even begin to estimate how long ago that was, but if he had to guess, he'd say around a year since meeting up with these new people. Weeks, and months, and years ceased to matter. Shel, Stephanie, and everything else about that run down gas station by the highway was in the past now. The only day anyone thought about anymore was tomorrow.
Since it's already written, you'll never hear anything about "Coming Soon". Anything you guys let me know that I can improve on, I'll go back and edit the upcoming parts again in Word, or if I release a truly abominable chapter, I can edit IT then repost if necessary. So, here it is. What exactly happened to Roman after his path took him Down by the River...
“Holy shit. Check this out, John!”
“Dan, what are you… oh man, we hit pay dirt! Clive, come see this!”
Roman rolled his eyes. “Remember the rules? We have to be quiet when we’re out.” He gently paced over to where John, Dan, and now Clive had gathered. The other members of the group, Conner and Beth, joined them. Most of them were too focused on their findings to be cautious, much to Roman’s dismay. “Conner, keep a lookout, would you?” Obeying without a word, Conner brought the rifle up and scanned the area all around for the slightest movement or noise that could give away any threats. He had good ears, and it would take a professional to get the drop on them with a soldier like Conner on watch. You could never be too careful these days, and Roman hadn’t survived this long just to take a bullet because everyone else decided that fish were more important than perimeter security.
The rest, however, felt differently. “You guys think that there are any more around? It’s been forever since I’ve had fresh fish,” Beth exclaimed. Roman snapped at them again.
“I didn’t realize Clive and I had joined up with a bunch of kindergartners,” he spat, and pushed his way to the middle of the group. “When I say quiet, I mean quiet! Someone had to have put these here, and they might just be coming back for them.” He gave the newly discovered fish traps a long look. It had been days since they had eaten more than bits of foliage, so everyone had become a little excited at the thought of actual food. Their supplies had run out over a week ago, and they had subsisted on what little they could find in the forest, and water from the river. Even he had to admit that the thought of actual food was nearly too much to stave off. Nearly. It was still no goddamn excuse to let their guard down. Not in his group. He began barking orders, determined to keep these people alive despite themselves.
“Conner, you and Clive take the rifles and establish a perimeter,” he said, pointing each of them to where he wanted them to begin. Clive would cross the river completely, and take up a position just inside the forest on the other side. Conner would stay on this side, and take up his own position in the trees nearer to their current immediate area. “Dan, Beth, I want you two to cross over to that sandbar in the middle of the river and see if there are any more traps. John, as our professional outdoorsman, I want you to take care of those fish. We need something to eat, and I don’t trust anyone to get those fish in one piece as much as you. I’ll stay here and watch your back. Everyone got it?” They all nodded, Beth and Dan giving the fish trap one last, hungry glance before they began crossing over to the sandbar.
They had been following the river since they had come to the forest, relying on John to try and catch some food for them. He had convinced them that the river had to lead somewhere, and as their expert on all things outdoors, they had taken his word. They hadn’t found much of anything. Well, I think we know why, now. He guessed that the traps had been catching what little fish had been travelling the stream, and that none had made it far enough downriver to be caught by his new group. Just as well, really. Those crude fishing poles John had constructed looked more like twigs with bits of twine attached to the ends than anything sturdy.
As Conner stepped silently into the trees nearby, whispering that he was going to observe a small, makeshift trail he’d found, Roman’s thoughts drifted back to his old group, and how it had seemed to fall apart so quickly. Clive had been the only one he found after that fiasco with those raiders, when their second attack had taken Joyce. Their walls had been overrun before they knew what had happened, with a dozen screaming killers howling for their blood. The assault had come only a day or so after he had caught Stephanie stealing supplies from them, and he had been taking inventory when the first shots rang out. Only a stroke of luck allowed him to escape through the fence in back, tearing away a few loose boards that he hadn’t noticed before, and begin running as fast as he could once clear. After nearly a day of travel, the sobering reality hit him: he was alone. Shel and Becca were missing, along with Clive, and Boyd had been killed as well. Joyce was also dead. Stephanie had to be put down after she had been caught with most of their ammo and medicine. How long had it taken since that first break in? Two weeks? Was that how long it had taken for everything to come down around him? A week later, he reunited with Clive by chance, and after that, they encountered their new group. He couldn't even begin to estimate how long ago that was, but if he had to guess, he'd say around a year since meeting up with these new people. Weeks, and months, and years ceased to matter. Shel, Stephanie, and everything else about that run down gas station by the highway was in the past now. The only day anyone thought about anymore was tomorrow.