[OPEN] and we'll tell you when they're hungry again

[biteouttagrimes]

WHO: Rick Grimes and OPEN
WHERE: All around Heropa
WHEN: From November 27th to December 24th
WHAT: From Black Friday madness to have you seen my son, join Rick on his whacky adventures of trying to be a normal man.
WARNINGS: PTSD, probable mentions of violence if not ACTUAL violence, and will update for anything else.

Heropa Mall (Black Friday)

[ Rick hadn't gone to his assigned job once. The message he had intended to send was that he wasn't interested in this world and their systems of monetary currency. He didn't want to owe the government a damn thing. But as he lived here -- as the months went by and he saw how Carl tried his best to do the things Rick should have provided, he decided he needed to make the effort to provide normalcy. That he needed a job.

And while mall cop wasn't his most ideal of roles, it was something he was sure he could handle. Given the time of year, it was also something the mall needed in sore abundance. So even though Rick had been struck off their pay roster, he explained his reasonings and that was good enough for them to give him a second chance and hire him on.

That being said, Rick probably should have realized what he was getting into when his start date was the day after Thanksgiving.

It all began at 11:55pm. Rick, adorning the mall cop uniform, stood back behind the locked doors with the rest of the team. It was almost horrifying -- the hoards of people outside, pawing at the entrance, trying to claw their way inside. The chorus of shouts and cries really sounded no different from the walkers back home, and Rick felt a sense of dread for when those doors opened. He spared a look back at the other workers as he approached the door with the key in hand. ]

Alright, everyone! Stand back and brace yourselves! They'll come in fast an' they'll come in strong! You can't let them have control!

[ His words were shouted with more authority than necessary, but when he unlocked the door and opened it, all hell broke loose. People flooded in, stumbling over each other -- parading directly toward the store of their choice with little care who they trampled in the process.

A few times he had to take rough action in order to prevent people from being hurt. There were a few people he slammed against the wall or pinned to the floor because they either tried to shove their way out of the established order he and his fellow cops had set or they were starting fist fights with someone who got the last of the items they had wanted. Needless to say, after a run-in with Rick Grimes, most of the customers learned to behave themselves afterward.

As long as the day of sales went on, Rick could be found controlling crowds, policing anything that got out of line, and stepping into the middle of altercations without thought. There was hardly any downtime, but the few rare breaks he got -- he could be found in the food court, inhaling a burger or off in some less crowded corner, tensing and flexing his fingers to ward away the stress and kill the desire to just grab a gun and go firing into the crowd. Because despite the similarities, he had to remind himself this hoard of people was alive. ]


Heropa Bar -- closed to Joel (November 3rd)

[ If there was anyone in this world who might 'get it', it was Joel. So Rick called his fellow apocalypse survivor up and asked him to meet him at some less crowded bar. The fact that Rick had managed to keep it together for as long as he did was impressive. And even at the bar itself, he was calmly sipping a beer by the time Joel arrived. Rick didn't even look up, squinting down at the label on his bottle as he cut straight to the point of why he called Joel out. ]

Carl's gone missin'.

[ There was no point in beating around the bush in their conversations. Either Joel had seen him or he hadn't. But more than that, he hoped Joel recognized the request behind it. Rick wanted his help in searching. ]


Streets of Heropa (November 3rd - 5th)

[ To say Carl's disappearance hadn't left Rick distressed would be an understatement. He rationalized that it was probably a port out. Carl would have told him he was going to be gone the whole night, that he wasn't going to be there in the morning, or if he was in trouble -- he would have let him know somehow. Some way. Just like any of his group. Still, there was an off chance that Carl was in a situation where he couldn't say anything. And because of that off chance, Rick took to the streets, gun in his back pocket because if this had anything at all to do with Crane or some other person trying to get in Carl's head, he wouldn't hesitate to pull that trigger.

When he took to the streets, it was with intensity and purpose. At times, he could be seen running through the shadier sections of the city -- calling out: ]

Carl? Carl!

[ But other times, especially during the day, he took a calmer approach -- walking up to random people to ask: ]

Hey -- I'm lookin' for my son. You see this kid around anywhere lately?

[ In his hands, he held some torn out magazine page from some terrible teenage magazine, but it was an article about Carl that included a few pictures and that was about the only image he had. ]


Various! (Any time!)

[ After Carl's return, things became a bit more normalized for Rick. Well. Normal was relative. But throughout the holiday season, Rick could be found working his job at the mall -- policing crowds and taking care of problems or sitting by himself on his breaks in the food court. Or perhaps he would be found after his shift at a nearby bar, enjoying a beer. Or maybe you would be one of the lucky few to find him out in the woods -- various targets set up while he fired off his gun and took them all down with a single bulls-eyed shot.

Either way, no matter the person or the scenario, they were in luck because at least this time Rick was a much more approachable person. ]

Comments

[mightthinkthat]

[ Francis is in a Heropa mall because he's a little too famous at this point in Nonah. His meet and greet policy is bearing fruit, which is nice, but he wouldn't mind a shopping experience where he doesn't need to work.

Of course, there are some overlap, unfortunately the overly excited kind. Which leads to the rather embarrassing crash of a display of cuddly toys.

Francis was rooting the poor old dear out when security was called. ]

[biteouttagrimes]

[ Rick is one of the first responders on the scene, running over to Urquhart and the older woman with a raise of a brow. ]

What's goin' on here?

[ He stands there like a cop. Not a mall cop. A real cop. Thumb in his belt loop, weight shifted to one foot, and a certain intensity in his stare. ]

[mightthinkthat]

[ Francis gives him an incredulous look. ]

A fall. [ He may have wanted to say something clever, like a 'well, it's a bear trap' but he's conscious of the woman's feelings of embarrassment and didn't want to offend her.

He puts an arm around her to steady her (she's pretty pleased) and starts to help her up. ]

[biteouttagrimes]

[ The lack of a quip is probably for the best. Rick certainly wouldn't have appreciated the humor. ]

She didn't get pushed by no one, did she?

[ He's always ready to put the blame on other people -- seeing the way these people shop, the horrible side that gets drawn out of them is the closest he's gotten to seeing people act like they do in the apocalypse. ]

[mightthinkthat]

[ Francis probably wouldn't have given much of a damn of what Rick thought about it, honestly, but at the question, he meets the eye of the woman he's righting with a gleam. He prepared to lie for her. She shakes her head back, not sure she can handle that. ]

Only by Exuberance.

[biteouttagrimes]

[ Well, that's a relief. He spares a glance between them. ]

An' everythin's alright?

[ It looks all right. But it's a cop question. He just has to doublecheck and make them confirm that before he can move on. ]

[mightthinkthat]

We're old, not decrepit, dear fellow. All hips intact. [ He checks with the woman who confirms with a nod. She's a little starstruck to talk. Francis rubbing her shoulder probably didn't help.

He looks back at Rick. ] Quite fine.

[biteouttagrimes]

[ He offers a wan smile -- not terribly used to the humor. There really isn't much to joke about during a zombie apocalypse, but Rick is put at ease by the fact that all is well. ]

Alright.

[ And he goes to the walkie talkie. ]

Situation's under control. Don't need backup. Stand your ground at your designated positions.

[ Odd word choice. Rick's giving commands like they're at war rather than facing a mob of enthusiastic Christmas shoppers.

But in essence, isn't it the same thing? ]

[mightthinkthat]

[ Being a military man, Francis catches it pretty quickly and raises a curious eyebrow. ] Are there manoeuvres going on?

[biteouttagrimes]

[ Rick glances back at Francis and then down at the radio. ]

It just...

Just feels easier doin' things like this. Got it all under control for the most part. Only had a real problem at the electronics store when they were openin' up.

[mightthinkthat]

What happened there? [ He can't help being interested in 'problems'. ]

[biteouttagrimes]

Some guy got trampled when they were comin' in. An' then there was a big fight between these four people over the last TV on the shelf. Ain't like they're fightin' over the things we actually need.

[ Rick could understand, maybe, if they were survivors fighting over clean water. ]

[mightthinkthat]

Must have been seriously reduced!

[biteouttagrimes]

Sure was advertised like it was. But you know the way retail is. Always pretendin' things are some great deal when it really ain't.

[mightthinkthat]

Ah, but you don't tell that to well, whoever the Joneses are in 'keeping up with the Joneses' metaphor. We all love the struggle, well, more the victory than the actual struggle itself.

[biteouttagrimes]

Survival of the fittest, huh? Don't think they'd like it too much if they came from the kinda world I came from.

[ Finally, there's a faint trace of a smile, if only because that's what's really amusing about this situation. People fighting and struggling over things that don't matter, but when it's their own lives -- half of them, well more than half, will lose that fight. ]

[mightthinkthat]

One of those apocalyptic ones, I take it? Well, you don't seem like a caveman. [ Francis has decent chances. Obviously his age counts against him but he was never first responder type. And his conscience gets subsumed in the face of the greater good. ]

[biteouttagrimes]

You guessed it. An' I guess that's 'cause you ain't meetin' me when I first got here. I...broke into houses, stole food an' weapons, an' then lived out in the woods. Not exactly one for makin' good impressions.

[ Rick's come pretty far since then, at least! ]

[mightthinkthat]

[ He's a little amused, admittedly. ] Well, it's hard to shake off old habits that did you the favour of keeping you alive.

[biteouttagrimes]

This place is a little bit of a cultural shock when you first get here.

[mightthinkthat]

I can imagine. I've been to war, which is hardly the same, but going from one to the other was a shock, even beyond what I expected.

[biteouttagrimes]

From the looks of it, you survived that war.

[ Rick stands back to look Francis over. ]

Dunno if it's the same for you. But that type of thing, that'll change you forever. Hard to find your way back to bein' the man you were after that.

[mightthinkthat]

[ He shrugs lightly. ] It's been years. One gets used to it. And sometimes, that man isn't worth getting back to.

[biteouttagrimes]

Do you remember the type of man you were before you went to war?

[mightthinkthat]

Bookish, determined to fulfil family duty, innocent, that kind of thing.