mark-caldwell

[mark-caldwell]

"I could be asking you the same thing, darlin'," he responds, taking another drag from his cigarette before brings his arm behind his head back to rest. "I can't sleep. Thought I'd come up here, see if the stars'll help. Not too sure it's workin' though. Honestly. But, what are you going to do? ... Might need to go to the hospital one of these days and see what's going on. Insomnia's a bitch, and I need the rest. What're you up to, Nat?"

Natalie had found herself wandering more and more since Daxon had first taken her to the rooftop of his apartment building, and now, high places where she could see over the wall were one of her favorite places to go. Seeing a figure laying in the distance, Natalie almost backed off not wanting disturb someone else’s peace, but stopped when she heard the voice, “Oh hey Mark…What’re you doin’ up here?” she asks, sitting beside him.

#c:natalie

[mark-caldwell]

Mark takes a long drag from his cigarette, looking over to Josh, before he releases smoke into the air, turning his head back to the sky. "I see the Corporal's givin' away my whereabouts to everybody..." he jokes, flicking his habit. "Yeah, I usually do when I can't sleep. Which, is... well, usually always, but lookin' at them makes me feel relaxed. Used to help me over in Iraq. Figured why not now."

"Your old man told me you’d be here." Sleeping had always been a hardship for Josh, not because he didn’t enjoy it but because finding it became more of a struggle with every passing day. "Countin’ stars, are we?"

#c:josh #sjkfjsdlfjslkjfsdkf #i get so happy with them though

[mark-caldwell]

He's laying on the roof of his apartment complex, watching the stars as he smokes a cigarette, just admiring the night sky. He's enjoying his night off, that's of course until he realizes he has company. "Evenin'..."

#harveststarter

[mark-caldwell]

"You just don't look it... but, hey. I could be wrong. Apologies for snoopin', I guess."

#c:lara

[mark-caldwell]

"Yeah, uh...--- We did. But, I couldn't stay to write my kid's name up there, so we came back home. And I slept, for the first time in a very long while." He takes grasp of her hand, rubbing his face with the other before he looks back at her. "Josh wrote her name on that wall. That guy... he's a noble person. To think I thought good people were gone. Then I come here, thinkin', 'Hell, y'know... Maybe I can try to live this out just a little longer. Maybe things will get better and I can go back to work...', just to end up carin' for you, and Josh. Aiden and his kid. Dax, even. I'd protect that kid even if I'm not close to him like you are. Hell, I'd protect anyone...--- If you guys have done anything, you've made it easier. Easier for me to live through all of this. I just wish you didn't have to see that."

"It was a long weekend. Did you and your dad at least make it down to the writing on the wall remembrance?" she asked cautiously, reaching across the table and squeezes his hand, "You know its okay to lose it. You don’t need to worry about me telling anyone, and anytime you need to breakdown, tell me. I’ll try to help you through it. You shouldn’t have to do that alone."

#c:natalie

[mark-caldwell]

There was a long pause. Mark didn't know what to say, except he felt gratitude. What Josh did was something Mark would've done for anyone. In fact, it reminded him of the time he wrote his friend's name on one of the barricades back in Iraq so that everyone would remember who the guy was. In a sense, Josh did the same for him when it came to writing his child's name on the wall. "Y'know somethin', Josh?" Another long drag from his cigarette, he pats the guy on the back with a free hand. "I wish that kid been born to meet people like you, dude. Decent, good people...--- Thank you. For that."

"I know. I saw you leave." He had not taken part of the memorial ceremonies, standing on the sidelines instead. He had no name to put up on the wall. He had not lost a loved one, not like the people mourning their families and friends. His didn’t deserve to be up on that wall, especially not when he wasn’t even sure if his family had even made it or not. But after a while, he walked to see the result, catching the Caldwell’s family name, remembering all too well his friend’s words on losing them. His mother. His fiancé. His kid. The name was missing. For a moment Josh wasn’t sure if he was right in doing it but, he grabbed the pen and added Mark’s unborn child’s would be name. Kit Caldwell. "You left out a name. I took the nerve to add it for you… it was the only name I wrote up on that wall."

#c:josh

[mark-caldwell]

"I...--- Thank you. You all right, Lara?"

Just keep them.

#c:lara

[mark-caldwell]

"Well, I'm grateful to you for what you were able to do... I...---I just lost it. Between getting those kids back and killing that walker, especially when this weekend was about remembering and..." He takes a long pause, staring off into the floor as he took another drag from his cigarette. "... It's just been a long weekend."

"What are you going to do, got to deal with the shit somehow. Besides, there are worse things you could be doing." Taking a slight drag on her own cigarette, she tried to give him a comforting smile, "You never need to apologize for that… I’m just glad I was there for you when it happened. You shouldn’t have to deal with that alone."

#c:natalie

[mark-caldwell]

"Y'sure?" He catches them, lighting a match to his cigarette. "I really only needed one."

Lara tossed him a half empty box of matches. “Keep them.”

#c:lara

[mark-caldwell]

"I uh..." He wanted so badly to make an excuse for why he'd gone home so early, but to no avail, he couldn't lie to Josh since he's been so open and honest with him already. "I went home. My dad and I wrote my mom's name... and my fiancé's... and it was too much so we just went home."

"Didn’t know you were one of mine…" Josh approached the man pacing just a couple of feet away from him and handed the lighter just as he lighted his own cigarette. "Tried findin’ you last night at the memorial, man. You alright?"

#c:josh

[mark-caldwell]

"You have no idea..."

"Long weekend and all."

I don’t usually use this for such a wasteful habit, but you’re looking like you need a break kid.

#c:ian #hello! :)

[mark-caldwell]

"Thanks... It's greatly appreciated, hon." He takes a drag once it's been lit, blowing smoke away from a friendly encounter before the cigarette is held between his fingers. "How are you doin' tonight, miss?"

"Always," she offered hers to him. It hadn’t been lit in week but it fed her habit well enough. 

#c:ruby

[mark-caldwell]

"A disgusting habit... that eases pain," he winked at her, taking the lighter into his hands as he lit his cigarette. "I'm... I've been better. I guess," he starts, taking a drag from his habit. "I...I'm sorry you had to see that."

"That’s a disgusting habit..You should look at quitting." she said quietly, sliding her lighter to him. "How are you doing since…the last time I saw you." 

#c:natalie

[mark-caldwell]

"Any one have a lighter around here? I can't seem to find mine." It's been a rough past few days. The habit between his lips rarely makes an appearance, but with such anxieties and sorrows, it's the only way he knows how to cope without voicing his thoughts. 

#harveststarter

[mark-caldwell]

"Yeah, I get what you're sayin', but even then, you adapt y'know? Man, I've always wanted some of my own, but..."

Guess so. I helped raise my little brother. I know what all that’s like. Although, some kids accept it more than others, I think.

No, no. I know that’s gonna happen, no matter what I do. Sucks but it’s a fact of life.

#c:ethan

[mark-caldwell]

"We're going to find them, okay? Natalie and I, we started lookin', we'll find them, okay? I'll do whatever it takes, whatever you need me to, to find them. I will help you find Remi."

The fuck does it sound like, Caldwell!? They’re gone. Damnit!

#c:aiden

[mark-caldwell]

Reminiscence; Images of a Pre-Apocalyptic World -- Ethan Cameron and his brother, Connor Cameron.

#mc: graphic #harvestgraphic