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Post by Winters on May 30, 2011 16:40:19 GMT -5
When she had seen that there had been a cook in the kitchen, Sherry knew that things were doing to be much better than they were before. She never had a room mate here in the BSAA Headquarters, and certainly not anybody that knew how to cook since the outbreak. Everything that Izzie was preparing seemed to be all fresh, and she didnt even want to ask where it all came from. It wasnt anything Sherry had been in such a very long time. Most of her days were spent eating military rations and noodles, the simple foods that didnt really have an expiry date. Izzie asked her if she was hungry, and instintivly, Sherry spoke up. "Yeah, im starving... I dont even remember the last time I ate anything. I know, I know, its not healthy, Colonel tells me the same thing. Says I should be eating more often. But, ya know, I just never had much of an opportunity to. The cafeteria doesnt serve much, and neither does the outside world anymore. Got used to just taking in the nutriants I got my hands on, I guess..."
Thinking to the last thin she ate on the field of duty, it was a handful of salted crackers, given to her by a little girl. They were stale, not salty anymore, and had small traces of mold on them, but it was one of the last times she had even eaten a trace of the old world food. Anything after that had been freeze dried, or overly frozen. Smelling the food already, Sherry almost wished that she hadnt been as stubborn as she was, and actually showed up to eat with the Colonel when he asked her. "...Colonel cooks, too. Dont know many people these days that can, nice to know youre able to. The Colonel made soup, I had it once, and only once. Before all of this, the old world I mean, I dont even remember the taste of anything anymore."
This was true, most of the foods that had expired over the years wouldnt even be made again. During the four years life tried to get back on track, production never went back into drive. Everything Sherry used to eat had stopped being made, and would never again be a part of this world. Forgetting the taste wasnt so bad, it meant she didnt have to miss it, and would be even more of a treat when she did get the chance to have it again, if that day every came. "...Colonel told me that some places had been growing vegitables, but I havent yet explored enough of the world to see if it was true. Do you think that theres still some places out there that could be infection free? I mean, in 1998, we were prepared. But some people after that never came to reality. Those were the ones that wouldve been prepared from day one this time around. The BSAA doesnt have enough intel on how the world is holding up... Thats why my last mission was going to Las Vegas, to see how they were doing, relaying messages. Colonel told me it was important for people to keep in contact. Nobody is afraid of the infection anymore, its more like an inconvienince, ive seen some people treat it like a game."
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Post by Caliber on May 30, 2011 17:44:02 GMT -5
Izzie finished up the chicken and dumplings while Sherry spoke. Once the soup was finished, Izzie took it off of the burner and set it aside. She reached up into the cupboards above the refridgerator and retrieved two shallow bowls.
"Pfft, I don't blame you," Izzie told her. "Those M.R.E. rations are disgusting, I'd almost rather go hungry. Though, I've quite the knack of turning nothing-- scavenged scraps of food, whatever is available-- into something more... edible."
She began dishing up the thick, creamy soup into the bowls while Sherry continued to speak. Once she was finished, Izzie cut in.
"I get around a lot, I've seen functional farms. It's not like anybody lacks the manpower, it's the lack of resources. During the short interval between outbreaks, people actually managed to produce a significant amount of commercial product, as far as food goes. I've never actually heard of anywhere that's infection free-- at least not populated areas. Where there's people, there's infection. That said, there are, no doubt, small islands that contain no infection, but only because they would contain no people. I've also seen people treat infection like a game, as well. People just don't seem to realize the fact that these zombies used to be real, living people-- they belonged to families. It's rather disturbing how people don't recognize the significance of the threat that infection brings."
Izzie dropped a spoon into each bowl, held one dish in each hand, and walked into the living room, setting both bowls on the glass coffee table. She slid Sherry's dish across the table to her.
"Voila," she said. "Chicken and dumplings."
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Post by Winters on May 30, 2011 20:34:36 GMT -5
As the food was set in from of her, Sherry looked at it with a bit of wide eyes, and than dug in after a small compliment. "Wow... This looks amazing, thank you." The first bit of food she had in awhile had been the best thing shed had in an even longer while, years. This had been real, cooked food, something she only remembered eating before the outbreak of 1998. As it went down the hatch, Sherry savored the taste in her mouth, stomach finally starting to grumble. It would be different changing a diet this quickly, especially where she hadnt been getting the proper nutriants anyways, but it was a worth while change in the long run. But as Sherry ate the meal, she felt a little, hard inside. Getting used to something like this is one of the worst things you could possibly do, at least from her experience. It was nice of Izzie to do this, but really, it wasnt something she wanted to be getting used to, no matter how good of a cook the woman might be.
A crack of lighting struck, and then a boom followed a few seconds later. It was a pretty dark and chattery night, Sherry had bene getting exausted from the lack of sleep. "Hey, umm, Izzie? Great mean, thank you again, really, but I need to be getting some rest while I still can. I havent slept in the last day or so, body is still adjusting to having the luxory of a place to sleep here in the BSAA HQ. Ill be fine here on the couch for tonight, I like it out here. More wide open, not as enclosed. Hope you understand..."
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Post by Caliber on May 30, 2011 22:33:29 GMT -5
Izzie and Sherry finished their bowls, then Sherry gave her thanks and told Izzie she was tired. Izzie took Sherry's empty bowl off of the table infront of her and stacked it on top of her own, standing up and walking toward the kitchen.
"Yeah," Izzie told Sherry. "That's perfectly fine. I'll bring a few extra blankets and pillows out and you can relax out here. Almost every light in the place has a dimmer switch, so you can adjust the lighting however you want. I'm pretty tired, too, so I'm heading off to bed as well."
In the kitchen, Izzie covered the top of the pot with plastic wrap and a towel, then slid it onto the bottom shelf in the fridge. She exited the kitchen, and walked through the doorway into the next room. She rounded the corner, walking through the second living area, then trotted up the staircase. Walking down the next hall on the second floor, Izzie approached the guest bedroom. She opened the door and walked inside and over to the bed. Izzie grabbed two large pillows and a comforter blanket before leaving the room again, shutting the door behind her.
Returning back downstairs, Izzie entered the main living area again. She dropped the pillows and blanket down on the couch next to Sherry, then said her final good night.
"Here, use these if you need them. Feel free to leave the fire going, or put it out if you'd prefer. The windows out here open, all you have to do is push outward and they turn sideways, as if they're going to break, but they won't. So, feel free to open them if you need to. I'll be upstairs and down the hall in the last bedroom if you need me."
Izzie walked off, locking the front door on her way toward the staircase. She trotted up the stairs once more and made her way to her bedroom.
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Post by Winters on May 31, 2011 0:00:06 GMT -5
Standing up once Izzie had returned, she lay the comforter and pillows on the couch, and than said she was going to be heading off to sleep herself. Sherry began putting together her sleeping area, and than spoke out to Izzie before she walked off. "Thanks a lot for this, really, Izzie... Ill see you in the morning." For the first time since arriving in the room, Sherry smiled, and than the two exchanged a goodnight before separating. As the light in the hallway upstairs turned off, it was safe to say that the nightfall was in full effect, and she could get some sleep without anything to worry about. It was a little strange though, however, because Sherry still got up from the couch and looked out the window from the high building. Even though she was safe, and way up here, she still felt the need to check her surroundings.
For the next fifteen minutes to a half hour, Sherry stood at the window, just staring outside onto the lit up street far down below. The thunder had stopped, and the rain was coming down much lighter than expect. But after she waited such a long time, Sherry was nearly certain Izzie had been sleeping. Silently walking over to the cart, she dug through her things, and than took out an old hat. Staring at it, fixated, Sherry lay back down on the couch, and then put the hat on her head over her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she fell asleep within a minute in her own little world.
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Post by Caliber on May 31, 2011 18:55:15 GMT -5
Izzie stepped onto the warm, ground-heated hardwood flooring of the master bedroom, shutting the double doors behind her. She pulled the straps of her thigh holster loose, lifting it away from her leg. Taking her .44 out before-hand, Izzie tossed the holster to the side of the room, next to her shotgun, shoulderbag, secondary pistol holster, and other gear. Finally, she loosened her belt, pulling it out of each loop on her cargo paints. Wrapping it up, she also tossed it next to her gear, just as she did with the holster.
Walking toward her bed, Izzie stopped at her nightstand, where a CD player sat connected to speakers which were wired around the room. Digging through several CDs on the shelf below, she saw one by an artist she recognized. She dropped the CD into the player and closing the lid, then turned the device on. Soft music began playing from the surround sound speakers around the room.
Izzie approached the mini-fridge mounted into a concave area of the wall next to her bed. Below were several shelves, two of which being occupied by a wine rack, the other two lined with tall glasses. Izzie laughed at the idea of someone maintaining such a place during the outbreak. It occured to her that it must have never even been touched or scavenged during. Izzie popped the cork off of one of the bottles of wine, then poured herself a glass. Humming to the music, she approached one of the tall windows lining the room, then sat on the floor, legs crossed. The thunderstorm had ceased and turned into a slight drizzle. Izzie swayed back and fourth to the music, staring out the window at the streets below. For no longer than a moment, Izzie had almost forgotten the world wasn't normal anymore-- everything felt right.
Finishing off her wine, Izzie arose to her feet, then dimmed the lights to a mere glow from a switch on the wall. She left the music playing, volume low, and climbed into bed. She grabbed her revolver off the nightstand, slid it under her pillow, then pulled the covers up over herself. She slowly drifted off to sleep, in complete comfort.
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Post by Winters on May 31, 2011 19:39:14 GMT -5
Waking up to a ringing sound, Sherry jumped off the couch, sunlight shining through the window onto the living room floor. Way up here, the sunrise was easier to catch, and the orange glow moved over the room with every passing second. But as she got to her feet, she dug through the cart, and grabbed her cellphone. Opening it up, Sherry seen that it had been the colonel calling. Before picking it up, she looked around for a clock, and finally seen that it was 9am sharp. "Yes, Colonel? ... No, of course you didnt wake me, I was up j- ... Yeah, whatever, why do you ask? ... I dont want to, I think I made myself clear the last time, didnt I? ... No, just stop asking me, seriously ... I cant ask her, shes still sleeping, I think ... Well if you wanted to ask her, why not call her phone? ... No, because you wanted to talk to me, and clearly, I dont wanna talk to you, so stop calling me!"
Turning off the phone, Sherry tossed it back into the cart, and than rubbed her eyes. It was obvious she had been angry with the man, and if Izzie had still been sleeping, she wouldve been woken up from the shouting. The relationship between the Colonel and Sherry was something of a mystery to everybody else here in the BSAA, and she would like to keep it that way for as long as she could. Even though it was fairly evident that they knew eachother well, at least to some people.
Sitting down on the couch, Sherry lay back, and stretched her arms up into the air. She yawned several times before tilting her head back, and than closed her eyes, but still stood straight up. She wasnt tired, so much as just a little worn out from the day before. Footsteps could be heard on the stairway across the room, she Sherry knew that Izzie was coming down now to see what was going on.
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Post by Caliber on Jun 2, 2011 0:37:43 GMT -5
Izzie, who had awoken roughly a half hour previously-- just before the sun began to rise-- leaned against the backing of the sectional sofa in the secondary living area. She raised her cup of coffee to her lips, holding the it firmly with both hands, embracing the warmth of the liquid inside. After a short sip, she lowered the cup and sighed in relaxation, staring out the window infront of her at the sun, slowly rising.
Suddenly, a high-pitched ringing from the other room broke the silence of the morning. It was quickly silenced by Sherry scrambling to her feet to answer her cell phone. After the short conversation, Sherry hung up and everything went silent. Izzie stood up and made her way down the hall to the primary living room where Sherry had been.
Entering through the doorway, Izzie walked through the kitchen and sat on a barstool, leaning on the countertops. "Morning," she told Sherry, taking another sip of her coffee. "I made coffee, if you want any. It's not instant, either. It's real coffee, brewed in a real brewer, from real coffee beans."
Izzie stood up again to retrieve a second coffee cup from the cup rack behind the brewer, setting it down on the counter infront of her before returning to her seat.
"What was all that about? On the radio?" she inquired. "Something going on between you two? That was a pretty interesting way to speak to a commander... if that's all you are to eachother," she smiled.
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Post by Winters on Jun 2, 2011 1:21:41 GMT -5
Feeling a little embarrest that Izzie heard her speaking, Sherry tried to explain herself thought getting too much into it. "Hes my father, or at least tried to think he is. He was the only one alive after my family was killed, after I showed up in Vegas. Adopted me, I guess you could say, even though I didnt adopt him as a father. I dont like him keeping an eye on me, partially why I wanted to get out of the BSAA, but that would be stupid of me just because I dont get along with one person..." Sherry didnt think much else of it, as it wasnt a big deal. He wasnt really a commander, well, not to everybody. Just to a certain unit at the moment, one she wasnt even part of.
But the phonecall changed that. "...He asked me and you to partake in a mission, actually, but I declined. I dont wanna have anything to do with him. Unless you can convince him not to monitor us, im staying here in this room. Hate it when he tried to be part of my life, it just makes me angry inside..." However, this was fairly unprofessional of Sherry, declining a mission like that. Maybe as the morning progressed, Izzie would take the lead as her superior, and accept the mission without any consequence. Colonel wouldnt listen to Sherry, but maybe he would feel a little more at ease knowing she was in good hands from the get go.
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Post by Caliber on Jun 2, 2011 1:45:29 GMT -5
Izzie thought for a moment. It'd been a few weeks since she had seen any action, and she was eager to get back in the field. The mission intrigued her, even though she had yet to find out the objective.
"Hmm," Izzie said aloud, chin on her fist. "I'm sure I could convince him to allow you under my wing for awhile," she told Sherry. "What's the mission about, anyway?" Izzie asked, curiously.
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Post by Winters on Jun 2, 2011 1:55:52 GMT -5
With the friendly, yet professional tone from Izzie as she took initiative to accept the mission, Sherrys hopes gotten higher, and she than went on about the mission as the Colonel spoke on the phone. "Well, this hadnt been the first time he asked me to do this mission, as its not exactly the most eventful. My recon unit back in Vegas, I was in charge of finding people, collecting them. So when I joined the BSAA, I took what I was good at, and Colonel knew exactly how to pull my strings." Dragging on the conversation, Sherry than leaned back against the couch, thinking about it. It seemed a little lame, but these kinds of missions always interested her. Which is why she was a little more willing to do it in the first place.
"...Apparently, back in 1998, right before the outbreak in Raccoon City, the RPD had a training class for their STARS operatives. Keep in mind, this was fourteen years ago, if these people were alive to this date, and not currently affiliated with the BSAA, they would make amazing recruits for our current team. One of these operatives had been using an unmarked BSAA radio channel, which had been heard by the HQ, and traced back to Raccoon City. So, the mission? Track him down, and recruit him." Thinking about it, Sherry doubted that Izzie would find this sort of thing interesting, and might even express it. "Yeah, I know, maybe its not the kind of thing youd bother with... Im just thinking about somebody out there who deserves a chance to make a difference by joining the BSAA. Thats how I joined the unit in the first place, I was given the chance. Sometimes I get an opportunity, sometimes not, but at least im trying. Anybody else whos willing to take that stand himself would have quite the story to tell..."
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Post by Caliber on Jun 2, 2011 2:06:26 GMT -5
Izzie listened as Sherry told her of the mission, explaining the objective. It, clearly, wasn't the most exciting mission of her time with the B.S.A.A., but it was intriguing, regardless.
"Goose chase, huh?" Izzie asked her with little noticable enthusiasm. "Sounds uneventful."
She took a moment to think, tried to look at the silver lining.
"It does sound interesting, though," she continued. "Could be a little difficult tracking someone like that down. What are our leads?" she asked. "Where, specifically, in Raccoon City were the transmissions heard? I'm fairly familiar with the area."
Izzie stood up from her seat, walking over to the coffee brewer. She set her porcelain cup on the counter top, removed the coffee pot from the warming plate, and poured a second cup full. Not bothering with cream or sugar, Izzie set the coffee pot back under the brewer and returned to her seat, crossing her legs.
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Post by Winters on Jun 2, 2011 2:21:57 GMT -5
"...Actually, theres some files in my cart... Ive been thinking about this one pretty often. Just never got the motivation to enroll on it. But, since theres been more recent transmissions, which seem to end with just last night, theyre somewhere inside of the mall. Theyve been staying there for quite some time, living inside it, but was also heard leaving the city. A name hasnt been spoken, thats the interesting part, nor the name of the person on the other end, who may or may not be alive. As for the operative, hes alive, im certain of it. Just seems like that kind of person, hes not going down. It was almost as if he went crazy, based on the transmissions."
Thinking about it even more, Sherry seemed to be getting more and more intrigued by the mission. Jumping up from the couch, she moved over to the cart, and grabbed the papers she was sent a week ago. "Theres some transmission transcriptions, and a confirmed report from an anonymous source. Theyre identity hasnt been found yet, but apparently they used to be part of the BSAA. They went KIA not long ago, but an official report wasnt even registered." Feeling a little too energetic at the moment, Sherry changed the topic right quick, laying the papers on the coffee table, and than pouring herself a cup of black coffee. As she sipped on it several times, Sherry spoke again, in a different tone. "...Do you mind if I use your shower?"
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Post by Caliber on Jun 2, 2011 2:31:49 GMT -5
Izzie listened to Sherry, then watched as she dug through her cart, pulling out several files. After speaking again, Sherry had set the files on the coffee table. Izzie stood up from her stool and walked to the coffe table. She picked up the papers in her hands and shifted through them, glancing down the pages.
"This is odd," she said. "Almost sounds as if this person is deliberately staying out off the grid, but they're not making all that difficult with all the non-incripted transmissions.." she commented aloud, almost to herself, but she projected her voice loud enough to be heard by Sherry.
Sherry requested to use the shower, and Izzie nodded her head.
"Yes, of course. Upstairs, down the hall, first door," she told her, pointing to the stairs and making several hand gestures.
Thinking for a moment, she continued. "You sure you're being told everything?" Izzie asked Sherry. "About the case, I mean."
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Post by Winters on Jun 2, 2011 2:49:05 GMT -5
"Thats just the thing, I dont know. Thats all I know as of now, and thats all im told we know, as a whole. Doesnt seem like a big deal, but if we investigate this, it could turn into a big deal. Thats whats so interesting about it, the results arent known, anything could happen. We could end up recruiting a new BSAA member, or killing somebody who had been against us. That last idea wouldnt make sense, but you have to cover all the bases, right?" Talking about it was already more than enough, Sherry wanted to get onto this one as soon as possible, she was already excited about it. Nothing like a good mission, in her eyes, gets her mind off of everything else.
Moving down the hallway on the second floor, Sherry began removing her top before getting to the shower, fairly used to the feeling of not having to worry about people watching her. As she stepped inside the bathroom, she was already in her underwear, and the shower was turned on. This was something that her last apartment never had, and the only opportunity to wash her hair came from a swim in the pool two days ago. But even then, her hair never got wet, and this time, she was all for bathing in hot water for the first time in years...
...Stepping out of the bathroom, a jet of hot air blew out as the light turned off. The red head of hers bloomed even more now without the layered over brown, and the way she tied it back made her look even more professional. Now almost dry with nothing but a towel wrapped around her like a dress, she walked down into the living room, not sure if Izzie had seen her or not, and grabbed a box of clothes from the cart. Taking them into the nearest room, she moved the tower, and than got on her work uniform, proudly setting it up to look as professional, yet stylish, as she could...
...Stepping out from the room, Sherry tossed the box back onto the cart, and picked up her .357 Revolver, spinning it around several times before putting it back in her holster, and than speaking out to Izzie. "Havent had one of those in awhile, almost forgot how good it felt to enjoy getting wet. Bit of a different feeling than being dumped into a river with a wetwork suit, huh?" She spoke out, not sure if Izzie had been on a wetwork mission before with the BSAA.
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