Parker's Summit

[MeowRailroad]

Parker's Summit was in a very nice spot high in the mountains, among lakes and headwaters of rivers. It was solidly built out of sandstone bricks and it was tucked right against a marsh and a sandstone cliff. The average visitor wouldn't know by looking at it that a complex system of tunnels and rooms occupied the interior of the sandstone and slate mesa, and that in the center of the mesa there was an open space for crops and a mortar. It seemed to be a sleepy place, judging from the turrets slowly turning in their mounts, the dilapidated dock leaning into the marsh, and a communications antenna with its red bulb languidly blinking. It had been founded by a man named Parker Wu, who suggested the name to his fellow colonists Cole Barner, Anastelle Decena, and Danielle Rea when it was little more than 3 crudely built shacks. Over the course of its existence, the colonists convinced others to join and were found by their relatives as well. A man named Nicolas Mercier was the first to be convinced. Before that, Parker's mother, Katten Wu, had joined them. Rea's father Maxim joined as well, along with a man named Ham and a girl named Key (I pronounce it rhyming with "way"). Later, a boy named Colon joined, along with Parker's lover Graye. Unfortunately, lives were lost in Parker's Summit. Katten was the first to die, after she came down with the flu. Tragically she had recently wed Barner and it was the sadness caused by her death which caused him to take up smoking flake. Mercier later died in a fight after a grenade was thrown at him and he wasn't fast enough to escape. The big fall of the colony came during an attack by mechanoids. Ham, Colon, and Anastelle were killed during the attack and Maxim, Key, Barner, Parker, and Rea were injured in the fight and ended up rescuing and healing each other. A hazy record follows this but it was a time of fighting, misery, despair and infection. Key and Barner were euthanized to end their suffering. Their infections had gotten too bad to treat. Rea died of an infection while she was building a coffin for Barner. During this mayhem is specifically when Graye joined, and all she could do to help was to treat the remaining colonists, at this point it was just her and Parker since Colon decided to leave. He had joined to escape pirates chasing him so it wouldn't be fair to euthanize or doom him. Parker still had a bad infection and Graye moved him to the hospital and tried to treat him, however, it was in vain. He died, and since she wasn't stong enough to move the bodies, she welded the door to the hospital shut and painted a warning on the wall outside. "DO NOT ENTER. DEAD INSIDE. PLEASE BURY IN COFFINS, WHICH ARE IN MEMORIAL ROOM." Parker's wolf, Chloe, who had been with the original 3 since the start, was enraged at at Parker's death. She attacked Graye viciously. Graye died on the rec room floor, just outside the welded hospital door, paintbrush still in hand.

(A note about Colon leaving. I captured him and opened up the prison so he would escape.)

[Cheshyr]

Heh, it certainly spirals downhill fast when things get bad.  Nice story.