asherclements

[asherclements]

it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the ones most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin (via ruli1997)

[asherclements]

As Sam and Patrick moved out, hopefully toward some sort of food or water or anything mildly resourceful, Griffin moved toward Asher and sat next to the desk the boy was using as a crutch. It was an odd sign of trust for Griffin, but one he was reluctant about showing. Asher wasn’t the problem, the cold and the humanoids were, and Griffin preferred to be on his feet and moving. A swing of his axe and then a bit of running toward somewhere that looked safe, or maybe just running and hiding. Griffin clenched his jaws at the anxiety-ridden idea.

"Yeah, I do," he argued, "I said I would." In a place growing darker and colder by the minute, maybe by the second, Griffin should have known that words no longer held as much meaning as they used to. Did they ever? He let out a quiet, long breath, and watched the steam travel upwards and into the last bit of light caused by the sunset. He positioned his gloves, pulling them tighter and readjusting the rest of his clothes, in hopes it would help with warmth.

"A fire would be good," Griffin started, "but… after seeing the mess downstairs… I don’t know. He watched as Asher began to walk toward the door, wondering what he was up to. All he could hear was the wind from the cracks in the wall, blowing angrily, as if his survival was against some force of nature. Anybody’s survival was. They were all, in a way, tiny miracles. "What are you doing?” Griffin hissed, moving to stand up.

Eyebrows knitted together in concentration along with his eyes shut tightly, Asher cautiously placed his ear to the door and listened — or tried to, at least. Hearing Griffin's voice, the brunette immediately held his hand up in the air before speaking an almost inaudible, "Shh..." He thought he had heard something and if he wanted to be absolutely sure of their safety then he needed silence. He only hoped that the other boy didn't take it the wrong way and get mad at him, but he somehow knew that he'd understand why he was shushed sooner or later.

Everything seemed fairly quiet though aside from the incessant beating of his heart which was echoing in his own ears. He wondered vaguely if any of the humanoids could hear it and that thought alone seemingly caused his heart to speed up faster. But, no, he needed to calm down. He needed to take a few deep breaths because he definitely didn't want to put either of them in danger just because he couldn't control his own body. Swallowing the nervous lump in his throat for what felt like the thousandth time, Ash sucked in a rather large breath before letting it out begrudgingly. 

He repeated those same actions a few more times before he fully let his attention zone in on the noises around them. The only problem being that he couldn't tell what was what since Sam and Patrick were out there. Those noises could be coming from his comrades yet he still gripped the hatchet tighter in his hand. He had to be prepared — always prepared. "I thought I heard something..." he whispered as he pushed himself off the door cautiously revealing dark orbs behind now fully opened lids. 

"What if it's one of those — those things?" he questioned, turning his attention to the other occupant in the room.

He didn't even want to think about what could, or would, happen if they were to get trapped in the room with one of those monsters. "What're we going to do if one of them gets in here? I'm practically useless." he expressed, his tone so quiet that he wasn't even sure Griffin heard him.

patrick-teeger:

[asherclements]

PROMPT: What's worse than sitting around, unable to do anything to help? Doing so in a place of possible unknown dangers. The more the sun sets, the colder it gets, and it doesn't help to sit on a floor that wasn't designed to hold heat. Worst of all, you keep hearing things. It may be the wind. It may not be the wind...

It was cold — so cold — and Asher couldn’t stop his teeth from clattering as he tried his best to curl up into a ball of heat. But it wasn’t working. Nothing was working. The hospital wasn’t designed to keep in heat and anyone who had ever been in one beforehand knew that hospitals and doctor offices were always freezing. Tugging the jacket, that he had plucked off of one of his dead comrades just a month beforehand, closer around his body, he took a moment to scan the darkened room. He couldn’t see for shit, in fact, the only thing that he could distinctively see was his breath because it was so cold inside the building. But as he was distracted by his breath, he heard it. Ash didn’t know what it was exactly, but there was something. Going into panic mode almost immediately, he reached to his right and felt around for his weapon. It took a few moments, but he finally managed to grab the handle of his hatchet and bring it close to his body.

Leaning back against the wall as much as he could, he placed his ear against it and listened but he still couldn’t tell what was going on. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was one of the humanoids just around the corner ready to rip him in half? He didn’t know the answer, but he sure as hell wasn’t willing to take the risk either. Grabbing onto the desk that he had made himself comfortable beside, he pulled himself up into a standing position and looked around hoping his eyes would focus on the darkness around him. Things seemed calm though — too calm, maybe. Sucking in a deep breath, he wobbled on his feet slightly before limping towards the door on the other side of the room. If it was a humanoid then his best bet was to leave the area and hide so he needed to be prepared. He needed to be right next to the door on the other side if he had any chance of getting away. The worst part was having to play the waiting game though.

[asherclements]

Sam nodded reassuringly to Grif. They’d get what he’d asked for, or try to. Anything that they could find could be useful, or even just a minor luxury to comfort the group. He and Patrick would loot anything and everything they could. 

"We’re going to stick close by, for right now." He explained, gesturing for Patrick to join him at his side. "If we can’t find anything on this floor, we’ll come back here and check in on you. For now, I want to stay in earshot." He couldn’t lose anyone. In a matter of a week or two, he had come to depend on the comfort of his companions. None of it was really physical, but having people to care for was soothing. 

If he lost them, he was a failure. He glanced at Ash and Grif on his way out, and said, “Be safe.” 

The hospital was strangely empty. It seemed unnatural, especially with the debris around. It was entirely and very likely that the debris and such was from natural decay, but his gut told him that others would have looted the hospital. It was common sense. There would have been people in the hospitals that had been left behind to die. There should be bodies. And yet there were none. 

As he rounded a corner, he came face to face with a straggler, only narrowly avoiding him.Sam staggered backwards in surprise, nearly stumbling into Patrick, who he’d purposefully kept just behind him. He automatically changed his posture, head down and knees bent slightly, as he watched the straggler with cautious eyes. It wasn’t much of a threat, but it definitely implied the presence of other humanoids, straggler or otherwise. 

It doesn’t seem worth it to attack the straggler. They needed to keep relatively quiet, and expend energy into gathering supplies. They could go around it or turn back and search the other parts of the hospital. Sam turned around, giving him a questioning look and saying quietly, “We should turn back. I’ll come back later by myself and check it out.”

Asher's eyes nervously flicked to Griffin as he proclaimed that he would stay behind to help keep an eye on Ash. It was slightly unnerving to the boy because, well, because Griffin wasn't exactly his biggest fan plus they hadn't even known each other long. What if he had some kind of ulterior motive? Like, actually using the boy as bait? Or even just leading one of the humanoids to him then locking them up in the room? As the possible scenarios floated throughout his mind, the brunette started feeling short of breath. It was almost like he was having a panic attack. Opening his eyes wide, he blinked away the blurriness before trying to calm himself down with a few deep breaths.

He couldn't go into panic mode now. No, he had to show them that he could be strong too. Taking in a few shaky breaths, he managed to calm himself down enough before his attention was focused on Sam who, not unsurprisingly, was agreeing with the plan being thrown around the room. He really was going to be left alone with Griffin. It was ok though — he just had to trust him, just have a little faith, right? Leaning against the small table he had used to help himself up, he nodded at the leader's words before he watched him and Patrick disappear through the door leaving him fully alone with a man who wasn't very fond of him.

Gripping the hatchet in his hand tightly, he prepared himself for the worst as his dark eyes locked onto the much lighter ones of the man across from him. "You didn't have to stay, you know." he spoke, his voice cracking slightly. "I know what a burden I am on the group. I would've been fine." he stated, his voice holding no subsistence. He couldn't even speak a sentence confidently so why would he even believe that he'd be fine on his own? At least Sam had said that they wouldn't be going far so hopefully things wouldn't go too array with them being split up. Ash didn't know if he'd be able to handle trying to find yet another group if something were to happen. Hell, he wasn't even sure he could survive without someone by his side again — he had nearly died before finding Sam's group.

griffin-mccoy:

[asherclements]

Sam considered the suggestions quietly, watching them as they spoke, especially Ash and Patrick. The two of them were newer to the group and he was eager to observe and understand them properly. He needed to be able to provide for their needs, whether physical or emotional. That was how they would survive. 

When Grif finished speaking, he patted him on the arm. Grif’s anxiety was the most pressing issue, and the most obvious, the way he paced about the room. “We aren’t leaving. Don’t worry. It’s better if we hole up here for some time. It is getting colder, unfortunately, and it might be more practical to settle down through winter.”

"However," he continued, turning to face towards Ash, "if we’re going to be staying here, then we need to gather supplies as fast as possible. As soon as it gets colder it’s going to be harder to get out and scavenge. I’m not sure the nutritional center is going to have the short term supplies we need; food, water, but it could prove to be helpful later."

"I think it’s best if we scavenge through this building, and then through the non-hospital buildings, and then perhaps the nutritional center." Sam suggested, trying to sort out the ideal timeline for the activities in his head. He pointed at Ash, and looked pointedly to Grif. "I don’t want him scavenging with his ankle, but I certainly don’t want him alone. Someone has to stay here."

Asher's eyes immediately downcast to the floor as he listened to the men around him speak. His idea hadn't been completely shot down so that was nice, but it hadn't exactly been helpful either. He just wanted to prove to them that he wasn't completely useless, but it was hard to do so when that's all he felt like. Running a shaky hand through his messy hair, he tried to let out a few deep breaths in a way to calm himself as he racked through the various options swirling around in his head. He hated that he was being a burden on the group, but what else was he suppose to do?

The upside to it all was that his ankle seemed to be healing fairly nicely considering the conditions, but the bad news was that if he knew anything about sprained ankles then it would still be another week, maybe even two, before he was fully back to his original pace. "Don't." he spoke, raising his head so he could look at Sam. "I-I mean, you don't have to leave someone behind to watch over me." he explained as he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. What was he doing? Did he really want to be left alone almost completely defenseless? The answer was obviously no, but he couldn't stop the words flowing out of his mouth.

"Don't let me hinder your routine. I can hide until you guys get back." he suggested. "I've pretty much mastered it at this point." he stated attempting to give them a small smile. "The process will be much quicker and easier if you guys go as a group. We can find somewhere for me to stay safely hidden away."

Reaching up, Ash grabbed onto the desk to his right and pushed himself up into a standing position making sure to keep the weight off of his sprained ankle. The task proved to be much harder though and nearly drained him of what energy he had left. "Plus..." he started, wincing slightly as he bent down to his backpack, "I have this." he finished, pulling a hatchet from his pack. The weapon really wouldn't do him much good, but it was absolutely better than having nothing at all.

griffin-mccoy:

[asherclements]

Sam rubbed his fingers together thoughtfully, studying the rough, dry skin of his hand while he listened to the others. It’d been too long since they’d had clean water, or food, and he could feel it in his skin. It felt stretched, liable to tear at any moment. Despite the many years of being a scavenger, a survivor, it was a feeling he had never grown accustomed to. The rolling pain in his stomach however, was another story. He’d gone for long periods without proper food, driven forward by a blind and desperate need to keep moving. The pain was the least of his worries. 

Speaking of, he thought, and turned to examine the others briefly. Griffin looked normal, perhaps a bit grumpier than usual due to his thirst, guarded and strong in all things. Patrick, on the other hand looked frail, the discomfort clear in his expression, in his actions. Asher, as well, looked worse for wear. His ankle was looking worse, and he needed a lot of rest. 

Sam glanced around them. They needed a safe place to stay for a few days and rest, let Ash recover. If they made a temporary base here, Sam could scout out the local buildings for any food or supplies. Even now, he was worried about pushing Asher too much. He didn’t want to split up the group at all, especially in such a foreign environment. Ash needed to stay put, but he knew Patrick would make a less than helpful guardian for him. 

Scratching his chin absently, he considered his other options. Leave Grif, a man he trusted wholly, with someone he did not favor, leave Grif, Ash, and Patrick to scout out on his own, but severely lacking in knowledge of medicine, or stay behind with Ash, and have Grif and Patrick scout. 

He ran a hand through his hair and observed the three. “How do you suggest?”

While the silence was usually a relief to Asher, he wasn't enjoying it so much now that he sat in a room with three other people who he had just met about a week prior. He knew that him being dependent on others would catch up to him eventually and it was obvious that particular time was now. Hell, he was pretty sure that Griffin was already fed up with him before he even spoke one word; not that he could blame him. With a quick glance, Ash looked over to Patrick as he spoke before he subconsciously copied his actions and hugged his knees to his chest.

His ankle still hurt, but it felt a lot better than when he had first injured it so he figured that was a plus. Resting his chin atop his left knee, he winced slightly before switching over to his right to relieve the pressure that he had put onto his ankle. This was ridiculous. They were pretty much sitting ducks just waiting to be plucked off the radar, but he was honestly too scared to do anything else. He usually had speed on his side which meant that he could just run away from the problems, but with a bum ankle, his anxiety was through the roof. He didn't have a chance in hell if they were to go out there right now.

Lost in his own thoughts, Ash was only brought out of them by the sound of Sam's voice. Perking up instantly, he focused his full attention on the man that he considered a role model as he merely spoke four words. Sucking in a deep breath, the brunette readjusted himself into a more comfortable position as he rested his head against the wall. Flicking his eyes across the room, he zoned in on Griffin who he was sure wanted so badly to just say that they could use Ash as bait and book it, but he shook the thoughts from his head. He couldn't think like that or else he really would end up being bait. 

"On our way here..." Ash started, his voice cracking slightly from having such a dry mouth, "I saw," he swallowed before clearing his throat, "a place that read 'Preston Family Building' or something like that. I remember my mom saying something about it being a nutrition area. There may be vitamins or something in there. I think — I think it would be worth a shot." 

And even though he felt terrible about the fact that he could be leading someone into a death trap, he knew he couldn't just sit back and withhold such information. Like he had stated, there could be food or vitamins or anything in there and right now, they were incredibly desperate. Patrick looked unusually pale and incredibly tired, Griffin looked even worse and was much grumpier than usual and then there was Sam — he probably took the cake yet he always seemed to keep everyone else's well being in mind over his. Ash didn't understand that, but he couldn't help but admire it as well. They needed something. Perhaps, they needed a fucking miracle.  

griffin-mccoy:

[asherclements]

you’re not the bravest or the most talented, and certainly not the most skilled - if you can avoid a confrontation, you definitely will; there have been instances where you’ve been in a confrontation, however, and you owned, surprising not only others, but yourself as well.

SIXTEEN // ISFJ // 6W5 SP/SO // LAWFUL GOOD // THE IMPERTURBABLE // BY CHELSEY

Being an old soul with a kind, gentle heart and a willingness to help others, it came as a complete surprise that Asher survived throughout the entirety of the ongoing perpetual war that he was born into. But what was even more surprising was that he managed to survive even after the societal collapse. His giving nature, intelligence and all around ability to listen to others and remain loyal is what has brought him this far though. While it seems like most have seemingly figured everything out, Asher is in an ongoing war within himself as he struggles to find his place.

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[asherclements]

FULL NAME: Asher Bryce Clements NICKNAME(S): Ash AGE: 16 HOMETOWN: Boston, Massachusetts JUNG: ISFJ ENNEATYPE: Type 6w5 MORAL ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good TITLE: The Imperturbable

To say that Asher was an unplanned child would be an understatement. In fact, Asher's mother had no idea that she was even pregnant until crippling pains in her abdomen sent her to the hospital and it was revealed that she was indeed almost eight months along with carrying a child. Along with the initial shock came the realization that she was bringing a child right into an outright war zone; a child that wasn't even fully developed. This conclusion sent her into hysterics and her little fit nearly cost both her and her unborn child their lives, but after a little bit of coaxing she was able to calm down and bring her baby boy into the world. Asher obviously had a few complications though and had to stay in the hospital for a few months after being born, but otherwise was a healthy baby.

As the years went on, Asher's father took the reigns in making sure that his son was protected at all costs yet he wasn't teaching him any survival skills that were needed. This is where he developed that dependency on others to survive in the world. He didn't grow at the rate as the other children that were around so when he tried to socially interact with them it only ended in mean jokes and other insults from his peers. And that's what caused him to become slightly introverted. It wasn't a bad thing though in the long run because while he didn't venture out very often, he started reading a lot more and his intelligence really got a chance to shine through. It wasn't until he was six though that he was really put to the test because while the war was seemingly over, a whole new one had started in the form of a post-apocalyptic world.

His parents had survived with him until he was thirteen when the trio ran into a group of Crawlers. His parents ended up giving up their life for him leaving him to survive on his own. He couldn't do it though. There was no way that he could make it without them and he was willing to sacrifice himself just to be with his family again but before he could do so, he found his saving grace. Just as Asher was getting ready to walk right out into the open completely weaponless, someone pulled him into a barricaded building and scolded him for being so stupid; that was where a new fire ignited inside of him. The guy that found him was a real interesting dude and a previous tattoo artist who thrived on being able to express himself through art. This is what led Asher to volunteer to let him tattoo his entire right arm just so he could keep his comrad happy. He stuck with that same guy until he was fifteen and they ended up getting separated on a run but luckily enough, the boy found a small group that took him in willingly once they witnessed the power his mind possessed. 

Being able to keep up with the time frames and when one year turns into a new one, Asher has been able to determine that he's coming up on his seventeenth birthday soon, but there's an overwhelming heaviness in the pit of his stomach that keeps telling him that he won't make it that far. Not like that feeling is anything new as he always seems to feel that way, but his anxiety has worsened and his paranoia has seemed to multiply tenfold. He's now more worried about how he would survive on his own if something were to happen to his group and that has scared him so much that he finds himself sticking closely to the people around him which he knows has to be annoying at times but he just can't help it. Because when a fight or die attitude is needed, Asher knows for certain that death would come to him quickly.