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Apocalypse 101 [Now Accepting]



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Wed Jun 19, 2013 6:55 pm
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Rydia says...



Abigail Marsh

Settling Elaine down took longer than Abbie had anticipated and there were worried creases around her eyes as she finally moved away from her family huddle. Of course, it was right that Zoe should stay behind, Paul wasn't himself these days. God knew he loved their little girl, but he wasn't himself these days (or he was too much of himself; Abbie never knew which one it was).

Almost everyone who was leaving the bunker had already left by now and Abbie could feel the stares of those remaining behind, burrowing into her skin. They were a mixed bag of nuts these stares: half jealousy, half fear. Abbie walked at a brisk pace to the hatch and found Byron just on the other side, his hand extended to help her out. Abbie accepted it gratefully and with her other shielded her eyes against the sun.

It seemed a while before she could see anything of the world and even after the glare died down, it was still there, a fuzzy halo hanging over everything she saw. But oh, she saw! Not everything had been destroyed afterall.

There were some buildings still standing in the distance and some torn in half. It looked almost like some great machine had scooped bowls of the earth away, taking building, trees and all and leaving hollow craters in their place.

But, it wasn't all lost. Over all the ground, weaving in and out of the railway tracks, clinging to the rusted rear of a car, over everything was a patchy carpet of lush, green moss.

Abbie cleared her throat, then she did it again, more loudly and the talking died down as the group turned to her. She'd become something of an unspoken leader in the group.

"Remember the plan everyone, we have to get this base organised and stocked up. Brian, Theo, Lucy, Dex, Olivia. You're all with me. Jonathan, take Jasmine, Samuel, Helen, Rheyalyn, Minestrone, Hallie, Aaron, Lance and Byron. We need blankets, food, water." Abbie nodded or smiled at each person in turn and encouraged the groups to gather close together.

"We're going to see if the hospital still stands." That had been on the outskirts of town to the East, in the opposite direction of the shops. "Try- try not to go too far this first trip and at the first sign of any trouble breathing, turn back. We don't know what we're dealing with."
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Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:00 pm
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barefootrunner says...



Brenn "The Bull" Bullingham

"Give me some bloody room!" Brenn barked, pushing a few eager inmates out of her way in great sweeps of her arms. She picked up the last remaining obstruction by the back of his collar and turned him to face her.
"Oh, it's you, is it?" she grunted, eyes narrowing. "You, Marsh boy — beat it."
Lance's Adam's apple bobbed above Brenn's grip.
"Could you... hm... put me..." He pointed a helpless finger at the ground.
Brenn looked him up and down, then dropped him. Lance staggered for a moment.
"Go on, pick it up!"
The boy gave her a sidelong glance and scurried up the ladder.
"Bloody wastrel," she muttered and sniffed loudly. Fresh air. Undeniably cold, unfiltered and uncirculated. She cast her majestic weight on the bottom rung, then, jowls shaking, proceeded up the ladder, turning her face upwards to feel the cool droplets of moisture from above seep into her skin.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming," Aaron said as she emerged.
"Wish I could tell you that none of this had ever happened and that you are still the seven year old sniveling kid I remember. But here we are, having this conversation, outside for the first time in ten f***ing years. Get used to it Aaron, this is our world now. And something tells me, this isn't even the start of what is in store for us outside," Lance replied.
"No, it most certainly won't be," growled Brenn, bearing down on him, "if you don't mind your mouth, you bugger!"
The boys skipped out of her reach with chuckles of delight.
"What do you say?" Brenn asked ominously.
"Yes ma'am!" Aaron called loudly with a grin and mock salute.
"You wait till I get you, you little rats!" She shook a meaty fist at the boys, who were roughhousing among the leaves. What had been a building, had turned into a jungle. Brenn kicked a heavy object out under the leaves. It was a wooden shutter, punky and blackened around the edges, covered in anomalous orange fungi. The brass fittings were rusted blue and green.

Abigail started to organize the breathless occupants of the bunker. They had work to do.
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts" - Einstein





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Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:12 pm
wordsandwishes says...



Liv~Outside at Base

I squint in the sunlight, after being underground for so long my eyes sting even when I close them. It's not really that bad though, and after being stuck in that bunker for ten freaking years I'd take whatever was left for us outside rather then go back in. I blink a little, the stinging's subsided and I look up to see Abigail organizing us into groups. I'm left to help build our... base, or whatever we're calling it. I'm dying to explore, but, admittedly, my knowledge of what to eat and what not to eat, what was dangerous and what wasn't was... pretty limited. As far as I was concerned, if it growled then stay away from it, and if you don't remember eating it before don't eat it.

I didn't exactly see how I was supposed to help at home base either. Ask anybody, I wasn't definitely not the most well practiced at making my bed, doing dishes, or anything really. I usually just distracted people with conversation when that stuff came up. I new basics though, like starting a fire, and setting traps.

I look over at Dex, who's glancing around nervously at anything that moved as if it was gonna eat him. Then again, for all we knew there was probably a lot of things out there that wanted to eat us. We did have a Military defences group after all.

Then, of coarse, I remember I'm supposed to be helping. I spot Dex putting up a tent with some sheets and I walk over. I sit in the shade of a convenient nearby tree and flop down on my back. I face Dex.

"Hey," I say.

He glances up from his fiddling. "Hey". More fiddling, he's obviously having trouble.

I watch him for a while longer, until I can't take any more of it; I burst out laughing. He turns and looks at me and so I stop, but a smile still tugs my lips.

He gives me an exasperated look." Aren't you supposed to be helping with this?"

I give him an innocent look. "With what?"

"The tent."

I look over at his half caved half twisted sheet monstrosity. "Uh, Dex."

"What?"

"I don't think that's a tent anymore." I let out another laugh as Dex stares at me in disbelief.

I get up, brushing the grass off my jeans, and make my way over. "Here, let me fix it."





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Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:02 pm
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kayfortnight says...



Jasmine

We had a fairly large group. Of course the best way to hunt is to troop off into the wilderness with around a dozen people. I resist the urge to split off and wander away. They'd notice pretty quick anyway. It's a lot emptier than I expected, yet there's also more...not life...stuff...than I expected to see. Somehow I didn't think about how not everything dead would decompose in that length of time. Most things, sure. But the dead trees still stood, and for some reason, that made the otherwise barren landscape even creepier. And I like trees.

Most of the people in our group seem to be around Aaron's age:Helen and Rheyalyn, Lance a couple years older, and Minestone a couple years older than that. Closest person to my age was Hallie, and I had never really spent any time with her when we weren't forced into interacting.

We set off towards the shops, I watching the ground for the slightest scurry of a living thing, any living thing and purposefully moving away from anyone who tried to speak to me. We couldn't be alone on this planet. Another five years of this or more, and I'd go insane. Assuming we lived that long, given our current state of supplies.
Last edited by kayfortnight on Fri Jun 21, 2013 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:01 am
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Audy says...



Theodore/ "Ed"

"Ah. Look at that sun," Ed said to no one in particular as he twirled a pair of old sunglasses around his finger. He had been saving them for the past decade, knowing that this moment would come. When he put the shades on, he felt transported back in time—he was a boy when he had worn them last, when he had wanted to shield the world from his tears.

He took a deep breath, savoring every lungful of air, and taking in every sight as he eagerly spun around to survey the landscape. Beautiful.

The world was so vivid, so rich and covered in lush foilage. The golden rays of light that came in through the thick canopy above the entranceway warmed at his cheekbones, enough to stretch them to a taut smile. Ed couldn't help but celebrate, whooping loudly, high jubilant cries! He wanted to run around, stretch his legs. He wanted to climb things, and swim across the English channel. He wanted to—so he will!

"Woohooooooo! Freedom!" Crazed as he was with a sudden fever of energy, he ran around the base, his arms upturned into tight fists above his head, and his legs pounding at the ground.

"Hey! Watch it, Ed!" Ed pushed past Lance and Aaron, laughing as he ran passed them. He liked the two boys. They reminded him of himself when he was their age, and Ed enjoyed teasing them about all sorts of things. Girls, in particular. No doubt it was all he ever caught them talking about, the poor boys. A man cannot be cooped up for too long. It did things to the spirit.

Despite his enthusiasm, Ed grew tired quickly. He was not used to the exercise, and he found himself dropped to his knees by the Marsh family, gasping for breath. It wasn't long before Abbie divided them into groups. He liked Abbie. He had no family in the bunker--known no one, but the woman was practically like a mother to him.

"Geez, Abs," He said after she had finished with her plans. "You've known me long enough, you can at least start calling me Ed, you know. Everyone else does."

"I'm sorry dear," She said, giving him a weak smile "habits." Ed noted the worried look in her eyes, and the stress that lined her face. It was strange, seeing her in the light of the outdoors-she looked frail and tired-- older, her face lined with so many wrinkles. He was so used to seeing her strong, not like this.

"Hey," he said, and he met her eyes. "Don't worry about what Paul says. By my book, you've made the right decision. Even Byron thinks so, don't you Byron?"

"My brother's a coward," Byron agreed. "But there's hardly time to worry about that. Abbie, we have to do something about that body rotting down in the chambers..."

Almost in unison, Byron, Abbie, and Ed grimly turned their heads back to the entrance of the bunker.

Spoiler! :
Willing to change anything if need be. I just sorta took some initiatives, but let me know if I made any mistakes or poor judgements ^^;





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Thu Jun 20, 2013 4:57 pm
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Sins says...



Keanen Dohery

When Abigail didn't mention my name while splitting everyone into groups, I took that as my chance to go wherever the hell I wanted. I would have done that regardless of what Abbie said in fairness, but hey, I appreciated having the choice. I decided to join the smallest group, Abigail's, as less people would have hopefully been less irritating. Besides, these clowns needed someone like me to help them because let's face it, I was the only one who ever actually knew what they were doing out of this sorry lot.

Everyone skipped off into their groups like an overly enthusiastic cult of idiots, and some people were so high up each other's arses that it almost caused me to bend over and throw up. With a sigh I stopped to watch everyone, and for the first time since I could remember, I actually took some time to pay attention to them. And as I watched everyone chat excitedly as they soaked up the sunlight that had been stolen from them for a decade, I stood on the sideline thinking about Mr. Donahue and how I'd never see the man again no matter how much I wanted to. And then I felt hollow. So hollow that it was as if my insides had been swollen up by a merciless creature and left nothing inside of me but empty space.

Wait, what the hell was wrong with me? Jesus, I couldn't half be a whiny little shit. I shook my head, turned away from the group and sat down against a rather deformed looking tree. I liked trees. Tress were good. Tress didn't piss me off.

I absentmindedly gazed at Olivia trying to help Dex build a tent and as I began to concentrate more intently on what they were doing, I sort of wanted to ram my head into the tree I was sitting against. Why was everyone so useless? Could no one do anything right? Nothing frustrated me more than watching people try and do a job that they were clearly incapable of, especially when a monkey could have easily done the job embarrassingly better. With a roll of my eyes, I jumped up and ambled over to where they were failing to put up the tent, Dex being the worst at doing so

"Oi, shitheads!" I called as I approached the both of them still fiddling with the tent. "I hope you know that a deformed rabbit could pitch that thing quicker than you two."

Dex being his usual upbeat, optimistic self said nothing, frowned a little, and then backed away at my arrival. Olivia, on the other hand, retaliated and looked amusingly miffed. Her reaction sparked something inside of me that caused me to smirk.

"Not now, Keanen," she muttered calmly through gritted teeth as if she was trying to be polite or something.

Without bothering to ask because I knew these two's egos wouldn't let me, I snatched the part of the tent Olivia was holding and began doing the job properly before she even had a chance to retaliate. Peasants. Peasants everywhere.
I didn't know what to put here so I put this.





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Thu Jun 20, 2013 6:15 pm
Demora says...



hey, no one answered so i'm seeing if anyone will here, I wanna join the story book but I have a different idea for my character, she's one of the survivors from the outside and one of the groups will meet her later but I wanna be sure I can do that.
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Thu Jun 20, 2013 8:01 pm
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Demora says...



Name: Sarafina Zuzanna Perzone(prefers Zuzanna)

Age: 22

Appearance:She looks like a regular human from a distance till you see her golden eyes, deadly poison tipped claws, and menacing fangs. She wears a white tee with a black vest over it and a black plaid skirt with a set of knee high sneakers.

Personality:Take charge kind of girl, forth going, determined, secretly scared and quiet but refuses to break down and cry for to her that just means she's given up living and surviving, fighter spirit.

Strengths:like in personality never gives up is always fighting

Weaknesses: stubborn, secretive, she's scared to be her old self

History:Both parents had been drunks and abusive left at young age when she got the first chance, ran around for quiet awhile till the end came ten years ago she was sitting huddled in a corner of her old house her parents gone, and her left with memories, thinking this will be it, though she was surprised to find she was still alive after crawling out of the rubble of her house, coming face to face with another survivor with pure black eyes that burned into her then golden one, then she fainted but woke later her nails claws her teeth mostly fangs, and when she looks in the mirror golden eyes with black veins crawling up her neck from her right shoulder, where she guessed the boy had bitten or scratched her. Now a grey scar remains but the black veins never left.

Ability:poison nails and telepathic/kinetic

Others:she's been watching the entrance to the basement for awhile now ever since she found it just six months ago.
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Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:21 am
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Wonder says...



Okay, Demora, if you haven't already tried, you should post this stuff in the Discussion Topic. If the owner of the storybook doesn't reply, send them a private message -- but do not post in the middle of a storybook, please.
Thank you! ;]

Rheyalyn Creatrix

The girl sat down in the grass and rumpled the plants with her fingers, savoring the cool feel, and how beautiful it smelled and looked Outside. Rhey watched Keanen, Olivia, and Dex for a few moments, smirking slightly. Keanen was funny, in his own cynical and grouchy way, Rheyalyn observed. People who were either super optimistic or super pessimistic or negative always were.

She felt like helping, like doing something. Rhey felt so useless, sitting there. The sun was wonderful, the breeze was wonderful, the sky was wonderful; everything was -- but everyone else was working or doing something. She quietly brushed her hair using her fingers, then flipped it over one shoulder and trotted back to her group. Making her way to Jasmine, she whispered, "What exactly are we looking for? Or doing, for that matter."
Even though the girl smiles and laughs doesn't mean that she isn't dead inside.





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Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:39 pm
Demora says...



okay sorry bout that won't happen again

Zuzanna

I stare at the entrance in amazement as people come pouring out of it. How on earth are they still alive and how long they been waiting? The questions raced around my brain right now as I wait high up above them while they built their tent. They amazed my when more than just one or two came out of that hole, but how? There's no sense of time here just one day's over now onto the night. And at that point night was coming and anyone who lived out here knew better than to be on the ground when this happened or to at least be armed, and by the looks of these strangers they were in deep trouble.

After a long debate with myself I finally speak to the strangers. "Hey, you should really get off the ground ya know!" I smile as their heads all snap up in different directions trying to pinpoint where I am, I really shouldn't mess around with them, but it was too much to resist. I jumped down and landed beside the group pitching the...oh what is that thing, oh well some kind of shelter. They just stare at me another human being alive and moving or at least mostly human things change over time. "So what'd you expect coming back to us here in the world that things would be fine and dandy. Ooops sorry to burst your bubble but life's a struggle, ALL THE TIME. So you better get your butts up in those trees if you wanna see the light of dawn!" I let my golden gaze travel over all of them keeping a strict serious face and a commanding stance waiting for them to listen. "Well what are you waiting for? I'm helping you people so hurry up get in those trees!"
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Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:14 pm
Rydia says...



Abigail Marsh

What Theodore - Ed - said was right. They had made the right decision, but it was hard not to think about Paul and his stern face turned slightly away from her in the dark of the bunker.

"My brother's a coward," Byron agreed. The word cut through her like ice. Oh she knew he was a coward, he always had been. Despite being the older, he'd always been the first to chicken out of the rougher games, the first to suggest that maybe it wasn't a good idea. Nobody had been more surprised than Abbie when he'd then been the first to ask her to marry him... and he was a good man.

"But there's hardly time to worry about that. Abbie, we have to do something about that body rotting down in the chambers..." Right. Abbie's eyes snapped back into focus and she gave a sharp nod.

"Make sure you bring back a shovel," she said to the boys as she turned grimly to look at the entrance to the bunker. Maybe Paul would help her bring him out. Maybe then he'd see it wasn't so bad out here.


As the preparations got under way, they brought up the survival tents and everyone pitched in to get them set up. Some people were more useful than others, but Abbie tried to oversee them with a steady hand. For once, Keanen was making himself useful; Abbie liked to think he was a good lad underneath.

There was a commotion over by one of the few standing trees: a scraggly thing with more branches than foliage. Some of the group were looking up or crying out in surprise and Abbie hurried over.

"Well what are you waiting for? I'm helping you people so hurry up get in those trees!"

Abbie was surprised to see the voice came from... a girl. A girl with golden eyes and... a girl! An unfamiliar, but unmistakably human girl.

"Well I never, so some people did survive the apocalypse!" Abbie exclaimed. "But what's this about climbing the trees?" There was a very small grove of 'trees' not too far away, but even from here Abbie could see that their stiff branches held no fruit. There was no point to climbing the trees: they had a camp to set up, a hospital to investigate and a whole world just waiting for them to make it their home.
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Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:08 am
Demora says...



Zuzanna

I lock eyes with the woman as she joined the group around me, "What do you mean, 'What about the trees' I mean everything about the trees!" I looked at her surprised she'd even ask me this, "In that hospital are beast who can't stand the sunlight, but that's just the start. They're the only ones who can't climb so amble around for prey on the ground. They aren't even the worst of it. You all are luck to be alive!" I tell them addressing them again. "Now if you wish to live follow me, we might be able to reach the others if you all can climb fast enough." I snort then jump high to a branch that would normally be impossible for anyone normal to reach. I swing on my legs till I hung upside down and let my hands dangle down to them. "Well hurry up I'm not going to hang here all stinking night" I bark down to them my gaze shifting from face to face, while I wait.
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Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:53 pm
Elinor says...



Lucy

"Mother. Stop fidgeting and it will all be over soon." Lucy repeated the words for the hundredth time as she knelt by her mother's beside, trying to administer medicine. A few weeks ago she had come down with a deep fever and later red spots started appearing all over her skin and she would moan in pain every five minutes; shingles, it was called. Lucy had chicken pox once when she was a kid and shingles was supposed to come after, when you were adult. Even though her mother had a flair for the dramatics, it hurt to see her in so much pain.

"Can't you cure me without making hurt worse than it otherwise would?" Cybil gasped.

Lucy sighed. She supposed that to be a doctor she would have to deal with these sorts of people. Once they got out and rebuilt the world. And now was preparing her for what that would be like. She kissed her mother's forehead and said calmly, "The pain will go away once I give you medicine. Now, let me take the syringe out." Lucy didn't know how long they had been working, but she was beginning to grow tired. "Close your eyes if it helps."

Her mother did so, and Lucy firmly gripped the syringe and pulled it out. Her mother cried out in pain, but she quickly administered an anesthetic and bandaged up her forearm. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Lucy asked.

Her mother moaned in response.

"I'll go fix you some tea," Lucy said. "Is there anything else that you would like?"

Her mother shook her head, and Lucy began to walk over to the kitchen. She started humming as she fixed the tea, trying to take her mind off of things. As difficult as her mother could be, seeing her in so much pain reminded her of how much their family had been through. There were some days where she missed the warmth of Ryan's hugs or going on father-daughter outings with her dad. Time to time she thought of how everyone else was doing outside. Some mornings she woke up and forgot about everything, thought for a minute that she was still back home. The bunker was so lonely and quiet now that almost everyone was out exploring.

She finished the tea and walked to her mother's bed, where she saw a familiar face standing next to it. Abbie. More updates from outside.

"Lucy," she said. "We need you."

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Thu Jul 18, 2013 10:19 am
Rydia says...



Abigail Marsh

The girl's talk of beasts and trees was unsettling, but Abgail Marsh had not spent a decade in a bunker to be told she must now spend the rest of her life in a tree. She gave the girl a gentle smile and said kindly: "Well I don't know about these creatures, but we have a sick woman down there so I suppose I'll have to find out."

Walking back to the bunker, Abigail shivered slightly as she started down the hatch. She didn't want to go back inside! It was all she could do not to run out again, but her girls were down there and who knew what airborne diseases were waiting to sink into the skin of anyone brave enough to spend the first night under the stars? Abbie almost wanted to, in a wistful way, but she had her little ones to think about.

Even before she had finished descending to the bunker, there were people half crowding around her. For people who didn't want to go up there, they were certainly curious. "The supply group have set off now and we've got the tents assembled for a temporary base." Abbie made her voice loud enough for most of those around to hear. She noticed Paul was staying well back... maybe for the best...

After a few more updates, the group dispersed enough to allow Abbie to seek out the person she'd been looking for. Of course, she knew she would find the daughter not far from the mother, so she made her way there first and sure enough, Lucy quickly came along.

"Lucy, We need you." The girl looked up and gave her a torn, questioning glance as she moved nearer to her mother so Abbie explained in a soft tone: "I'm taking a group to the hospital for supplies. You're the most likely to know what's going to help and for your mother-" She waved a hand in Cybil's direction.

"I don't need more drugs, just give me that tea!" Cybil disagreed weakly. Abbie smiled to see the woman still had a fight in her, but it was plain to see she was terribly sick. Perhaps even beyond their means. It had been a wonder they hadn't lost others to illnesses and Abbie dreaded what they were opening themselves up to now, in the outside world, but they couldn't live like this, they couldn't. This had to be the right thing to do. "Will you come?"

"I-" Lucy hesitated for a moment and then took the tea to her mother, but not without a firm, clear nod first. "I'll ask Zoe to watch out for you," Lucy told her mum, her eyes flicking to the younger girl for confirmation. Abbie hadn't noticed her daughter's arrival, but now she looked up and was relieved to see Zoe nod and smile before collecting a cloth and dipping it in the water, to press against Cybil's head.

"I'll have her back to you soon," Abbie promised, directing her words at Cybil, but for once the woman made no response and only stared, her eyes haunted with pain and uncertainty. Weren't they all?

Abbie led the way back to the surface and once there called to the other. "This is a fine base while the weather is warm, but we need somewhere more permanent. The hospital will have beds a-plenty, and maybe even some emergency lighting. Now, this first run is just to scout it and get the medicines, then we'll come back, but who wants to come along?"
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