genessee

@Blitz Boom Lance smiled as Miss Gingerly closed the door. "I'm sure they'd test flu viruses on elderly ponies who have a weakened immune systems, instead of young adult ones where their immune system is at it's best." He visibly rolled his eyes while saying this.

@Pangur Ban OOooOOoOOOooOO! I love making people draw Lance! No specific colors needed as long as they are obviously similar colors (if it's black don't color it as white, durr) Various pictures of him I have laying around: I would prefer if he was wearing his hoodie in the art, the middle drawing is ancient, before I decided to give him a hoodie.

@Blitz Boom "Their cookies are really good. I don't think they're tricking me into anything except gorging myself on sugar, and I can't complain about that." Lance dug around the bag for about eight seconds and was just pulling out the container as the elderly mare opened the door. Miss Gingerly. Okay, she seems nice enough. He smiled at her and held up the soup.

@Blitz Boom Lance continued to follow Berry. "You know, you'd make a pretty good author." He was mainly dismissing the insanity she was saying as nonsense, but there was one tiny part of him that said 'what if she's right?' as there always is. But seriously, somepony needs to be writing this down somewhere, this is hilarious.

@Blitz Boom Lance laughed and followed her out. "But what would they do with the clones when they ran out of money? Also, how do the clones get money in the first place? It's not like they can go to the non-cloned version of themselves job, because there couldn't be two of them at the same place without one realizing that something was up." He continued to trot behind Berry.

@FancyHorse @Hazard Time Lance continued to attempt to wave away the cloud of dust around his head (and almost fell back down the stairs in the process) and, after a couple seconds of this, finally was able to reply to Fallskir. "I thought-- *cough* --Dip was going to bring up a lighter or matches. Do you want to go down there and ask or should I?" After asking this, he glanced over at the sunset. It's been so long since I've seen the sunset. You know, it's kind of nice. Besides the scorching heat at day and apparently bandits everywhere, I think this is going to work out fine. Lance smiled for what seemed like the first time today. I should try thinking like that more often.

@Blitz Boom Lance nodded quickly to Chop and turned to the door, and visibly jumped. He managed to keep hold of the food without dropping any, however. "I'm pretty sure if I had any phoenix eggs in here, the containers would've melted. And I don't think anyone buying food would be shady, but I mean, bad guys have to eat too, so..." He grinned and added, "I think you're supposed to show me where this place is..." Lance read off the address. "You do know where that is, right?"

@Blitz Boom Lance nodded and took the list, and began reading through it. I have no idea where that is. Lucky for me, Straw's sending somepony else with me this time. He folded up the paper and stuffed it into his hoodie. After a minute, he took at back out and unfolded it, and attempted to fold it into an origami bird. It looked more like a blob, but he was satisified as he popped it back into his jacket.

@Blitz Boom Notes. I will need many, many notes. "Alright, thanks!" Lance assumed he would be told where to deliver the food when he got said food. He quickly rushed back inside and made his way to the kitchen, proceeding to warily peep his head in. "Hey, uh, Straw told me that I should come here to get the first delivery foodstuffs." He said this carefully, trying not to offend Chop for whatever reason.

@FancyHorse @Arid_Blitz @Randimaxis Lance smiled as he got within speaking distance of the group. "I left a bunch of ammo behind if any of you guys want some. There's also probably some in the gun store that I didn't find right away, you're free to go take a look." @Hazard Time Lance turned to ask Ametrine if she wanted dibs on any of the loot, but noticed the look on her face as she made her way to the roof. I always had a talent for reading faces. Actually trying to do something about that face, though, I didn't have any skills in. But whatever, might as well go see what's up. He jogged after her, and nearly silently made his way upstairs. After years of avoiding attention had given him pretty decent sneaking skills. Lance got to the stop of the staircase and was immediately ambushed by a cloud of dust to the face, and he began coughing and sputtering.

@Blitz Boom Lance had always had disliked royal ponies. Mainly it was just an envy thing, as he did grow up in poor conditions. He hadn't had any nasty run-ins with nobility, though, so he agreed, figuring it wouldn't be hard to get along with his other boss. "Clear as day. I'm ready to get working right now, if you wouldn't mind the help." Lance liked to tell himself he was good at telling stories and writing them. I get the feeling I'm going to get a lot of material from this job.

@Blitz Boom "I don't plan on intentionally insulting any coworker anytime soon, so I should be fine. Lead the way." When Straw said 'look over your shoulder now and then', Lance immediately thought; why not tap me on the shoulder? Ooh, if I could get, like, a stitching into the back of my hoodie saying 'If you're following me because you have a question, please say something'. I don't know. The good part about thoughts is that nopony can hear them except you. And yet... Lance shrugged off the feeling that he was wrong about the privacy of his own mind and waited for Straw to finish up the tour.

@Blitz Boom So she speaks! Good thing, too, having a mute waitress probably isn't the best idea. "I'm doing just dandy, thanks. Welp, I think Straw wants to finish up the tour and then I'll be able to get working. Nice meeting you." He didn't get why ponies were so afraid of Stare. I mean, sure, she's kind of creepy, like a ghost. But it's not intolerable. I mean, besides the ability to be so quiet. Plus, it's not like I can actually do another job. I'm running low on bits and won't have time to look for a new one, besides helping with the entirely damaged town. And what happens after the town gets fixed?... so yeah, I kind of have to stay. This is going to be interesting, to say the least.

@Blitz Boom Lance turned around, and visibly jumped. "Helloooooooooooo!!..." He smiled nervously. How did she follow behind me for three whole minutes without me knowing?.. "My name is Lance--" --He flashed the name tag-- "--and I am the newest recruit here. How do you do?" He waited for a response, though uncertain he would get one.

@Blitz Boom "You really are building up the suspense, aren't you?" Lance then smiled and nodded. "Yep, I'm ready to meet my last coworker. Lead the way, boss."

@Hazard Time @Randimaxis @FancyHorse @Arid_Blitz Lance, finally somewhat near the group, emptied his hooves over a bench to quickly count out the how much ammunition he had found. To his surprise, some of hit fit into his carbine. "5.56 millimeter works for this carbine. Got it." He also had some 5.56 surplus and some 10 and 12 millimeter ammo. I figure that nobody else around is alive, so I'm not gonna try and be stealthy. "Hey! Guys! I found bullets!" Lance shouted to the group, waving around small boxes and magazines. Various bullets clinked to the ground around him, adding to his obviousness.

@Blitz Boom Lance looked worried as he followed Straw out. What does he mean 'not running for dear life'? While he felt confident he could manage to stay in the same room as what he was about to run into, or his brain would refuse to make contact with his legs, he still began to sweat. He was about to ask 'Why would I want to run away?', but figured the answer would be 'You'll see,' so he kept his mouth shut. Lance had made it a rule when he was young to never make fun of or avoid those who looked different/acted different/whatever. It was kind of cheesy, but it was so if that ever happened to me, like if I tripped and fell down a staircase or something and wouldn't be able to talk, I wouldn't feel guilty over the ponies I discriminated because I hadn't discriminated any. Now, though, he began to wonder if that promise was about to be broken.

@Blitz Boom Lance, not one for physical contact, almost straight-up took a step backwards, but stopped. Pretty sure it's impolite to actively try to move away from your coworkers. So, instead, he (barely) tolerated holding still and talking while only slightly leaning backwards. "H-hello! I'm the, uh, bozo you were just talking about. My name's Lance, and I'm the, erm, new guy?" He ended his sentence in almost a question, as if asking for approval. It was pretty obvious Chop Chop scared the daylights out of him. It wasn't the fact that the scars were there-- it was the combination of the beard, scars and voice. Like a viking, come to chop my head off and burn down the village. Okay, maybe viking isn't the most scary job I can come up with. Though, I can see him wearing a viking helmet, with horns and all that stuff.

No.

@Blitz Boom "No, sir, not any that I can think of so far." Lance had never been a huge fan of hot dogs, but he didn't despise them or anything. Though, back in grade school, the cafeteria served some for lunch and he had dropped his hot dog, and it bounced. Soon the entire lunchroom had fillies and colts throwing bits of bouncy weenies everywhere. It was great until they started throwing things besides hot dogs. His old hoodie had a permanent mayo stain on it that never washed out. I should go see if I still have it in one of the moving boxes somewhere. Probably all moth-eaten and dirty, but whatever. The other hoodie besides the small one and the one he wore now, the one he wore in junior high, had many, many more stories to tell behind each stain.

@Arid_Blitz Lance was in hysterics, headache and hangover forgotten for the moment. "Yours? She would blast your head off like that raider over there," He motioned towards the decapitated corpse, "Plus, you're a creep. No offense." @FancyHorse @Randimaxis @Hazard Time Lance, still chuckling, walked over to Fallskir and Dip. "Alright, so we're going to the roof?" He was about to ask where the smoke from the fire would go, but figured there was probably a gaping hole in the ceiling like the rest of the ruins he'd seen. I'm starving. "I'll go look for some canned food or something. Don't disappear 'till I get back, okay?" -- Lance scooted off from the group as his headache returned with a vengeance. He absently scanned the store names; some fast food places, another clothing store, a gun store-- wait, a gun store? Are you serious? In a heartbeat, Lance was inside, looking around. Nothing of interest besides a couple basic handguns that couldn't hurt a fly. However, he did find a variety of ammo, plus an unopened bag of chips. He scarfed the chips down and rushed back to the group, being very loud as he did it.

@Blitz Boom Lance wasn't really sure what just happened. "Err... what exactly do you mean by interrogate? Like, in the uncomfortable concrete room and the, like, one-way glass and stuff?" It was obvious he wasn't serious when he asked this, he just did it to allow his mind to wander. Maybe I should try chugging a gallon of coffee and see how long I last before collapsing. Now that would be fun. I mean, there's a good chance that it'd kill me, but... wait, no, I can't really think of a 'but' for death by coffee. I can see it now, 'Stallion dies from overdose on caffeine. When boss questioned, answers 'he was never a bright one, I'll tell you that,'' Actually... It went on for quite a while.

@Hazard Time @Randimaxis @FancyHorse @Arid_Blitz As if on cue, Lance returned the group, and asked, "Hey, I have a firepit out front made from a bench. Not sure if it'll burn, but I haven't had the chance to light it. Anypony here have a match or lighter?" He looked over at Dip expectantly. It wasn't exactly far-fetched to assume that he had something to light a fire with inside his stash somewhere. This firepit idea was a stroke of genius. I just need sometime to wind down and think about what a hellhole my life has just become. Oh, boy, I can't wait. Emotion.

@Blitz Boom Lance waved and smiled. It was pretty obvious to him that this 'Berry' had drank a bit too much coffee. He didn't drink a lot of coffee, usually because after the rush he basically immediately fell asleep. Better introduce myself, right? "Hi! I'm Lance. You're Berry, right?"

(Nopony in earshot, but just for what to expect) Lance had staggered outside, his headache in full swing, and then collapsed onto a wrecked bench-- it creaked in protest but surprisingly held steady. I can't pass out here, what if somepony besides my companions notices me out here? Like, alone and not conscious. That's like screaming 'Hey! I have loot and I would like it if you stole it! Don't worry, I won't even fight back!' Lance had, during his mental conversation, sunken lower and lower in his seat. There were two things keeping him awake at this point: fear of death and fear of losing the personality he had just created. I mean, sure, only Dip actually believes it, but whatever. I think I'll hang out here and wait for them to come out. Maybe I can set up a fire-- it seems to be getting dark, which is surprising, considering this is basically a never-ending fiery hell. Lance forced himself to his hooves, paused, and turned around, and with a hefty yank a board came off of the bench. Then another, and another. In a few minutes he had a makeshift fire-pit set up, with whatever he could manage to pull off the bench in the middle, surrounded by clumps of dirt and sand. Now I just need to light it with something. But what?..