Plum Parrot
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AA 1.57 - Schemes
🕑 Added 2025-07-23 13:20:59 +0000 UTCYay! Andy is back on the menu! Enjoy today's chapter :)
-Plum
57 – Schemes
“What do you mean by that?” Oscar asked, shifting his feet and glancing down at his bow.
“Yeah, what?” the younger guy, Silas, asked, pushing past the woman who’d been trying to calm him down. He glared at Andy, frustration clear in his narrowed, pale blue eyes.
Andy ignored the men and continued looking at Shawna. “What do you think?”
“You mean, would I pledge my life on my word? Yeah, Andy, I don’t have any reason to want to harm you folks. Why? Can you detect lies or something?”
“You’d kill us if we lied? Maybe this isn’t the place for us, Shawna,” the other woman said, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets and sort of shrinking in on herself. She looked exhausted and distraught, and Andy felt another twinge of guilt for putting these people through more stress. Still, was it his fault they’d come from the Hardhead settlement? Was it his fault they had to deal with the reputation of their community?
Shawna waved a hand. “Hush, Laura. Let’s hear him out.”
Andy turned slightly so he could point to the trail going up to the top of the mesa. “You all know that trail leads up to our settlement, yeah?” Everyone made affirmative noises, and Andy continued, “Well, we have some magical traps on that trail. I won’t say how many or anything like that, but just know that there’s a good chance that someone going up that trail with the intent to harm our community could get killed by them.”
“So, you want—”
Andy held up a hand, cutting Silas off. “I don’t want anything other than for my community to be safe. Right now, I’m sure we don’t have any traitors or spies living amongst us. Now, if you truly want to join us and be a positive part of our community, then you can walk up that trail, and nothing bad will happen to you. However, if you have some hidden loyalty to the Hardheads and intend to do anything subversive, then I highly recommend that you pick up your things and start walking. I don’t know where you should go, but I don’t want to see any more people die today.”
“Sounds fair to me,” Shawna said, nodding. Her lips were pressed together in a firm, determined line, and though she looked dirty and exhausted, she looked almost relieved at Andy’s ultimatum.
Oscar didn’t say anything, but he nodded, frowning slightly as he stooped to pick up his bow. Even though he looked ready to walk up the trail, he kept glancing at the other woman, Laura.
“You sure that shit won’t go off by mistake?” Silas asked.
“Our people have been going up and down that trail for days with nothing going off. I think it’s safe.” Andy shrugged, inwardly hoping the guy would turn and leave. Not because they didn’t need capable citizens, but because Andy felt like he might not be as sincere as Shawna, and he really didn’t want to see anyone blown up by his traps.
“Ah, screw it. I ain’t worried.” Silas picked up his dusty backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
To Andy’s surprise, Laura shook her head and started walking down the road. Shawna heard her footsteps on the gravel and gasped, hurrying after her. “Laura, where are you going?”
“I can’t, Shawna. I’m sorry.” Andy could hear the pain in her voice.
“What’s going on?” Oscar called, looking at the two women, then back at Andy, scowling.
“I have to go back,” Laura said. Shawna grabbed her arm, and when Laura spun to face her, her eyes were filled with tears.
“Brooks has my sister back there. I can’t leave her. I…” She looked at Andy and in a strained voice, spoke a little louder, “I thought if I could get some information, he might let her and me leave together. I can’t go up your trail, ’cause I’m sure I’d set those traps off.”
“Andy…” Lucy said, her tone carrying more weight than just his name; she wanted him to help her somehow.
Andy glanced at Jace and his sister, but neither had anything to say. He walked closer to Shawna and Laura. “What’s… I mean, like, is he hurting her?”
“Laura’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “Not like that. She’s only ten.”
“Don’t mean she’s exactly safe,” Oscar muttered, but thankfully, Laura didn’t hear. Still, if Oscar was having dark thoughts like that, it probably meant Laura’s mind was a mess of worry.
“Listen,” Andy said, moving past Oscar to stand close to Laura and Shawna. “If you go back there, I doubt things will get any better for you or your sister.”
“I can’t leave her. Besides, I meant what I said. I don’t think I can go up your trail.”
Andy rubbed his chin, racking his brain for an idea. Finally, something came to him. “Listen, you don’t sound happy about any of that. You don’t like Brooks, do you?”
“No! Of course not! It’s not like I have much—”
“Yeah, you do. Listen, you were thinking about trying to spy on us for Brooks, right?” Andy held up his hands, palms out. “I get it. I’d do just about anything to help someone I loved, too. Still, if you were willing to do that for him, why not do it for us? If you can help me get inside that building, maybe I could put a stop to this whole war situation before a bunch more people die.”
“Andy,” Lucy said, much closer behind him than he’d thought she was, “That sounds really risky.”
“Might be a better way,” Oscar interjected.
Andy turned to face him. “Yeah?”
“Yep. Rather than have Laura help you get inside, why don’t you see if she can get Brooks to come out?”
Andy instantly liked the idea. “A trap.”
“Exactly. She’s gonna need someone to go with her, though.” Oscar lifted his bow, slinging it over his shoulder. “I can do it. I can back up her story and tell Brooks that these two are dead.” He nodded to Shawna and Silas, then turned back to Laura. “Besides, she could use some help getting back. More and more monsters out there.”
“So,” Lucy said, stepping forward, “What are you going to tell him?”
“Wait…” Laura said, taking a step back and looking from Oscar to Andy. “I haven’t agreed to this. You don’t know how he is—”
“Yeah, I do,” Oscar replied. “Brooks is a real prick, and that’s why I’m going with you.” He sighed heavily, shrugging. “He’ll listen to me.” He turned to face Shawna and Andy. “He put me in their group to keep an eye on them. He thinks I’m one of his boys.” He turned his head to the side and spat. “I’ve been looking for a way out since day one, though.”
Andy nodded. “So, Laura? Are you in?”
She tugged on a strand of her loose, shoulder-length brown hair, winding it around her finger nervously. “What do I have to do?”
Andy thought for a second, then asked, “Is it true you have an outpost in the foothills?”
“An outpost?” Oscar frowned.
Andy shrugged. “The System gave us a quest to find it.”
“Maybe he means the ranger station,” Silas said.
Andy glanced at Lucy, and she shrugged. She didn’t know where it was. “Where’s that?”
Oscar pointed toward the Catalinas. “Like a mile up into those hills. There’s a trail. One of Brooks’s hunting parties found it. I guess the System gave them a quest to find a cave up there, and Brooks wanted to secure the area.”
Shawna nodded. “They won’t talk about what was in the cave, either.”
“Oh?” Andy was intrigued, both about the cave and the “outpost.” It also helped his plan come together in his mind. “What if you told Brooks that we were planning a strike against that outpost. You could say you heard us talking about that cave, too. If it’s something he cares about…”
Oscar nodded. “He’d lead a group to take you out, especially now that Rhodes is gone. He’d probably bring Chavez, though…”
Silas clicked his tongue. “Yeah, man. I don’t know if you want to mess with him. He’s been soloing around the city.”
Andy shrugged. He held out a hand to Oscar. “We’ll have to. You gotta give us time to set the trap, though, man. Take your time getting back and tell him you heard us talking about attacking in the night.”
Oscar took his hand in a well-calloused grip. “Yeah. I’ll make sure you have at least the day to get set. You'd better clear out that ranger station, though. I wouldn’t feel too bad about the guys there, either. They’re very loyal to Brooks.”
Andy nodded. He felt like he could trust Oscar, but he wasn’t sure why. He supposed that when Oscar volunteered to go with Laura, it could have been subterfuge. Maybe he’d seen an out—a way to avoid going up the trail to the settlement. Still, his grip was steady, and he looked Andy in the eye, and in that moment, Andy decided to trust him. “All right. Listen, make sure he comes. Tonight, but late. Tell him we’re attacking near dawn. You need to stress that this is his best chance to win the war. Make him believe our settlement is too hard to attack. Don’t let him think he can get away with just sending some cronies, either.”
“Hell no, man. I’ll make sure he comes. If he doesn’t go down, our heads will be on spikes in the parking lot.” Oscar didn’t sound like he was being funny.
Andy looked at Laura. “Can you handle this?”
“I… Yes. I can handle it.”
“Remember,” Shawna said, moving to hug Laura. “Me and Silas died in the desert. Andy killed us.”
Laura sniffed, nodding.
“All right, come on, girl.” Oscar unslung his bow and nocked an arrow. “Step one is getting back in one piece.”
Andy and the others watched them walk down the gravel road, and then, when they were just far enough to be out of earshot, Shawna, almost whispering, said, “He’s full of shit.”
Andy looked at her, eyes wide. “Huh?”
“He’s a great actor, Andy, but Oscar is definitely one of Brooks’s buddies. He doesn’t know it, but I saw the two of them on the second night of the apocalypse.” Her casual use of the term caught Andy off guard, but he had to admit it seemed appropriate. What other word fit to describe what had happened to Earth in the last few days? "They were doing shots in the office area of the store, and I heard Oscar talking about how he and Brooks and their other buddies were going to rule the new world.”
Suddenly, all of Andy’s confidence in Oscar’s word shattered, and he felt his blood begin to boil. His heart rate increased, and his face flushed. He felt…stupid, and he didn’t like feeling that way. He hefted his spear and started down the road, intent on catching Oscar before he could get away. Shawna grabbed his arm, though, and Jayce hurried close, whispering, “Don’t stop them, Andy! This is the perfect situation.”
“Perfect? Laura’s gonna be in deep shit if Oscar throws her under the bus.”
“He won’t,” Shawna said. “I told you, he’s a good actor, but I know he’s got a soft spot for her. He’ll convince her just to keep quiet, and then he’ll tell Brooks about your trap.”
Andy stared at her for a minute, then looked at Lucy, and she nodded ever so slightly. Was Laura right, though? She seemed so sure, but hadn’t Andy felt just as sure that he could trust Oscar? The guy seemed so…solid. Still, if he were acting… If he was clever enough to play along and try to get Andy to lead all of his best fighters away from the settlement… He let the implications sink in before he slowly began to nod. “Brooks won’t go to our trap. He’ll attack the settlement.”
Lucy thrummed her bowstring softly. “And we’ll be waiting.”
Comments
Omar Jimenez
Dang. Here I was hoping Oscar was on the up and up. Oh well.
