Plagued (DrTrollinski & Arielle)

[DrTrollinski]

".. It's... Okay, really." Alex smiled at her, gently rubbing the little boy's back who was still sobbing on his shoulder. He rocked him up and down to try and calm him, but it wasn't really working too much. He needed to sit his brothers down and work to make sure they were okay through all of this, because if they weren't, that would just be a disaster. They needed to come back from it, or where would it end up? It would end with them going through some sort of depression, which would really suck.


"With what's going on outside, it's going... to get harder and harder to find trustworthy people. I'm sure we've all lost at least... something... So, helping each other through this is the only way humanity's going to survive, you know?" He said, still rocking the child from side to side. "If we don't work together, we're not going to get anywhere. Later on, when we're having dinner, I'll hook up the radio my dad has and I'll try and see if I can find anything from the army. If we find something, that's great. If not, we'll figure out our plan of action from there." He said


"Rest well, guys. I'll see you in a bit." He smiled weakly and slowly carried the young boy out of the room and slowly up the stairs. He needed to have a long talk with them and he was really dreading it, you know what I mean? It wasn't going to end well, but Alex really did hope that Eric would save the fighting for after Carl was out of the way. He'd fight him, sure, but not when the little guy was there.

 

[amlia]

They listened quietly while Alex spoke, clearly having been raised well enough to know that it was just rude not to do just that. Aria couldn't be categorized as a good kid when she was younger, but she did know right from wrong. It was just a matter of if she payed any attention to this.


Kyle perked up at the mention of the radio and the army. He always wanted to join, but something always stopped him. They nodded, and when Alex was gone their attention returned to Madeline. Kyle huffed in amusement upon finding the girl passed out on the small couch, and aria took it as a good time to just think for herself.


They were both keeping calm and contained for mad's sake, but now that she couldn't see them the hidden emotions were expressed rather clearly. Why was this happening? Why here, and why now? It was sort of a "why me" thing that was going through their heads, and they each were visibly eager for answers.


"We left them." The female voice came first, bringing up the subject that just couldn't be ignored.


"We didn't have a choice."


"Yes we did. Amelia wasn't gone yet. We could have saved her," She was upset now.


"We couldn't-"


"Yes we could," Aria snapped, causing him to look at her, "there has to be a way."


"It doesn't change anything, Aria. Get some sleep. We all need it."


Kyle gave her shoulders a squeeze before standing and going off to the third couch and sprawling himself across it. The topic wasn't up for discussion any longer, but it doesn't mean that she wasn't thinking of it.


Even as she fell asleep, she was still filled with confusion. Frustration. Sadness. Anger.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"You fucking asshole." Eric snarled into his face as soon as Alex got back from putting the now sleeping child into bed; he'd managed to sob himself to sleep, and they needed some rest. One thing that Alex wasn't expecting, however, was the punch to the gut that sent him to the floor with a breathless groan. Eric dropped down and sat on his chest, clutching his shirt and bringing his face up closer to his. "You left us. We could have died and you left us." He whispered - he was already upset now, which was a shame really, because Alex had tears dripping from Eric's eyes and onto his face.


"Eric... I'm sorry... I had to find mom and dad." He said.


"And you went to do that without fucking telling us?"


"I didn't--.. I didn't want you to get upset, I needed you to stay here and look after Carl." He whimpered quietly, his own eyes filling with tears.


"And you think that I would have had a problem with that?" He choked out. Alex said nothing and fell to the level where he felt extremely selfish and inconsiderate. "You were gone all fuckin' night while me and Carl listened to screams and rain and thunder - I had to sit in this room with my eyes open all night, just to make sure nothing broke down the door and hurt him - You are a selfish prick, and I hate you." He spat, pushing Alex onto the ground before quickly rising up and retreating to his bed. He crawled under his covers and then broke down to tears himself.


I hate you.


Alex couldn't blame him - He deserved to be hated right now. He was in tears, too, but he was being as quiet as he could. He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen, sitting at the table and crossing his arms over in front of him - After he did that he buried his face within them and settled himself down. He was tired. He was upset. He was crying. He silently sobbed himself to sleep.


He needed to sleep on all of this, wake up, and find out none of it was real and it was all a bad dream.


But let's be honest - that wasn't going to happen.

 

[amlia]

Fuzz. Fuzz. Rainbow colors, more fuzz. Ah! Cartoons- Tom and Jerry actually. Aria flicked past the for a moment to see if there was news and when she did finally find it she stopped. Looking at it though, she wasn't entirely sure. Did she want to know everything yet? Kyle would want to see. She sort of wanted Kyle to watch it with her, too, so that she could ask questions. He'd be able to relax her if she grew uncomfortable. Funny that she was afraid of being afraid.


Cartoons was what she chose, and she was indulged in watching the characters run about the screen when the footsteps came down the steps. She didn't look his way, knowing that there was something she might not want to see or become involved in. It wasn't her business anyways, was it?


Soon she managed to shut her eyes for a little bit, and the next thing she knew she was awake again and watching a different episode. Kyle was snoring and Madeline was getting the rest she needed so badly.


Aria grew restless and stood, stretching her legs for a moment before walking some. She found Alex asleep in the kitchen and quietly retrieved the water she had forgotten about before then leaving.


Now left alone she was left to think. This was something you read about in books or watched in a movie. It wasn't supposed to happen. She peeked through a blind, only to step back and allow it to snap shut again after seeing the people outside. Not a lot, but even those few people were enough to draw her away.


If people could be an acceptable term, that is.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Eric came wandering down the stairs after quite some time and decided that it was about time he met the new guests. Undeniably, he felt kind of bad about how he'd treated Alex, but he still didn't want to talk to him. It looked like, by the time he got there, that Aria was the only one awake. Ah, well, he could meet the others later on. It was clear straight away that Eric wasn't a trusting person at all, which wasn't really a problem, seeing as he was probably some kind of troubled teen, but he'd live, right? It was just going to take a while for him to get used to these new people.


It was safe to say that he was a little ticked off that Alex had came back with these people and not with their parents, but he was over that, and he knew that Alex didn't really have a choice in any of it at all. It happened, so Eric was going to do his best to try and accept that. For Carl's sake, of course. Right now, he didn't give a shit about Alex, although that was bound to change. They were brothers after all, so they could only be in dispute for a certain amount of time.


"Hi," He whispered, hesitantly as he leaned back against the wall. ".. I didn't say hi earlier on, and I think that was rude. There was just a lot going on." He said, doing his best to pull off a small smile. "I'm Eric." He said. "Alex's younger brother... He's probably already told you about me, but I don't know." He shrugged.

 

[amlia]

Hi.


Aria spun at the sound of the strange voice and was met with the teenager. She eyed him for a moment, listening as he spoke and taking that time to azalyze him. He looked so similar to his brother. You could tell there had been recent tears and she wanted to make it alright. He and his brothers were definitely more distraught over the situation than she and Lyle. Madeline had understood, but Aria figured that it was going to take a while until it truly set in for her.


Aria was upset, yes, but she had Madeline on her mind. Stay strong for her. "I'm Aria." She replied after a moment, her eyes soon landing back on his. She got the vibe that she wasn't exactly welcomed, and she wasn't trusted.


She got over it though and spoke again, "It's alright. We were the strangers in your kitchen." She laughed quietly, though wasn't entirely amused with herself.


"He does speak of you. He was so worried about gettin back here for you two."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well, that's a surprise." He said, looking towards the kitchen. "I thought he wasn't going to come back, so we must have met a different Alex." He said, sounding rather bitter towards his brother for a moment before sighing and shaking his head, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be like that." He sighed. "He's... I know he's worried about us, he just... He doesn't know how much damage he's doing sometimes, you know? He was worried that I wouldn't want to stay here and look after our little brother. It's not like I had a problem with it, but clearly he believed I did." He shrugged once.


"It's nice to meet you nonetheless." He shrugged once and looked into the living room with a sigh. The little girl was the only one he was going to trust - the guy was going to be a different story. He'd be the last person that he warmed up to, that was for sure. He didn't trust many people for some reason. Trust issues as a child, I guess, right? Sure, that was all there was to it. It wasn't anything else, because Eric had lived a really happy life that he couldn't really complain about it all that much.


".. Who are those two, then?" He asked. "I didn't get a chance to meet them, and I'd rather not wake them up just yet, you know?" He chuckled softly under his breath. Maybe it wouldn't take so long for him to warm up to Aria, but we'll see.

 

[amlia]

She followed his gaze over toward the living room and to the other two. Kyle still snored, and Madeline had turned to face the inside of the little couch. She could see the distrust he had in them and didn't blame him. She knew she wouldn't trust any stranger who just walked into their house. She was surprised herself that Eric was actually speaking to her, let alone carrying the conversation further.


"Kyle's the one snoring loud enough to wake neighbors." She knew he wasn't to fond of the man and explained a bit, "He's a good guy. I've known him since I've been here. He wanted to join the military and such. Then planned on coming home to a family." She shrugged. He looked like a guy who would just mess anyone up, but at times could be the opposite. "Madeline's the little one. She's a sweetheart. You'll love her." Just talking about the girl caused a smile to form. Aria, having only known anyone here for a mere year, still felt as though Madeline was her own. She might as well have been.


She had heard how bitter Eric was toward his brother's actions and frowned, thinking about it. "Everything he does," She said thoughtfully, trying to place herself in the situation, "I'm sure he does it with you two in mind. To make sure you have everything you need, you know?" She gave a comforting smile and left the window. "I can tell the way that he talked about you guys that he cares a whole lot."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Kyle. Okay." Eric nodded once as he peered over the man. Sure, he'd shake his hand when he woke up and all, but that didn't mean he'd be friendly with him - Maybe he'd break the ice by playing them something on guitar. He did love performing after all - He'd planned to perform at a school talent show soon, but obviously that wasn't going to be happening anymore, was it? Ah, well. He was already devising what he was going to play for them - Something gentle, he figured. Maybe Neil Young - He liked Neil Young. It was good music, nice and peaceful and quite fitting for some people.


".. Our dad worked with the army at one point." He said, smiling a little. So, Kyle wanted to join the army, hm? ".. He did engineering for them, though, and technical stuff. He never actually worked with infantry or anything like that... I don't know what part of the army that Kyle was interested in, but hey, there's that as a similarity." He said, shrugging once. "I'm sure... I'm sure he's a good guy." He nodded again, but his words didn't sound so sure on that last part.


"I saw Madeleine first, really." He said, smiling. "She seems like a good kid." He nodded once again and brushed himself down. "Alex might care about us, and all... I know he does. It was just something that got me worked up when it all happened, you know what I mean?" He said. "He'll try and protect you as well, believe me... If you stick around, he'll... He'll sorta' work to do things that'll benefit you like he does for us - If he cares about you, which he inevitably will... Yeah, he'll look out for you, too. Alex ain't a bad guy, he's just..." He sighed and shook his head before finally laughing. "He's just my brother, that's all."

 

[amlia]

While Eric peered over at the two sleeping, Aria took those moments to get one very last look at the teen. She felt somewhat lucky, as selfish as it sounded. She wasn't like Madeline or Carl who'd be traumatized, and she wasn't like Eric who felt so betrayed, and she wasn't like Kyle who had the worries of being the oldest here. Despite the fact that they were both still responsible, she and Alex were sort of.. in the middle.


The smile appeared when he mentioned Madeline, and she eased up a little bit. She worried for the girl and knowing that she was on the others' good sides made it easier. She nodded in agreement with him, confirming that she was in fact an excellent kid. "Your brother seems like a good guy as well." She admitted. She figured he was right as soon as he expressed his worry for his brothers and had proven it by bringing them here.


She brought the glass of water to her lips, thinking as she did. "The boy," She said after a moment. "I watched Alex carry him upstairs. That's your other brother, right?" She smiled a little bit and leant against the wall, "He seemed sweet."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Carl is sweet." He said, sighing a little. "He wouldn't hurt a fly, he's just... He doesn't have it easy. He struggled a lot over the last couple of years, was very reliant on all of us." He smirked. "I remember, it was a Summer morning... He'd only recently turned four, and I was about to turn thirteen, but..." He smirked and looked down at the floor. "Most mornings during the Summer break, Carl'd wake me up really early, before everyone else, and he'd make me go outside and play with him. Y'know, soccer in the back yard, or something. And... One morning... He... He said he had to use the bathroom." He chuckled simply and shook his head. "When he called me to come into the bathroom, I panicked, let's just say that."


"I went in there, and... I had to wipe his ass for him." He laughed softly. "I was a kid, too, so... I didn't really know what I was doing, and I had no nerve. I didn't to wake up Alex or my parents, so... I did it - After that, he didn't leave my side all day. Carl has a funny way of expressing gratitude, but he'll do it in really sweet little ways here and there." He said. "I don't know how long you're planning on staying around, but... I know that we could use the help. Alex is smart enough to get us out of just about anything, but... He could definitely use the help." He sighed and shrugged once.


"I just ask... Take it easy with Carl - He doesn't like it when people shout at each other, and... He's not good with responsibility - He always tries to take things on, but he upsets himself. So... Y'know, try and be nice to him, will ya'? If you don't seem friendly, he'll lock up, won't say much to you, and will probably start crying after a while if you're not lucky, and that really isn't something we need right now, because he's cried enough over the last twenty-four hours to last me a lifetime." He gave a lighthearted laugh and looked around again.


"Do you, uh... Do you want something to eat?" He asked. "We've got plenty of food, so... I mean we could. Or we could hook up that radio while everyone else is asleep." He suggested. The trust he had for her was growing rather quickly.

 

[amlia]

He spoke so highly of his littler brother. She admired that of him. She was always glad that she never had anyone to worry about. She was almost always on her own, really just tolerating anyone she ever had to consider a sibling. She never minded that, though. She liked being independent.


Aria ended up laughing with him at the story, and when Eric suggested that she be nice and all she had no problem agreeing. "Maybe he and Madeline will get along." She said thoughtfully.


At the mention of food, she opened her mouth to answer, but a deeper voice beat her to it. "Maybe we could all eat together," Kyle stood in the doorway, "I thought it would be a decent way to at least get to know each other a little bit." His voice was scratchy and his eyes were still half shut. By default they landed on the girl, and then went to Eric. He plastered on a grin and stuck out a hand to introduce himself, "You must be one of the brothers. Kyle."

 

[DrTrollinski]

He wanted to get along with Kyle, but obviously, at first, that was going to be a little bit difficult. He could always appear friendly, though, quite easily actually - He decided that the best approach would be to tread lightly, but at the same time, try his best to get used to him. He didn't want to scare them off by being grumpy and aggressive. "Me? Nah, I broke in last night, they haven't found me yet." He said with a smirk, reaching out to grip his hand firmly, followed by shaking it. "Kidding, yeah - I'm Eric, second-eldest." He smiled at him. "Or second-youngest, depending on how you look at it. Doesn't really work when there's only three of us, though." He smiled a little and released his hand.


"Eating together sounds good." He nodded once and looked around for a moment. That was where his lack of trust shone through just a little bit, but he kept up his smile nonetheless and did the best job he could of seeming like he was fully comfortable in the new person's presence. "What I'll do... I'll go and put the soup on, get some bread out." He nodded. "Once it's all ready, we can, uhm... Wake the kids up, and we can eat - We've got a few cans of soup to go around, so I'll cook all of that up for us." He said, scratching the back of his head.


"I need to wake Alex up, too... So... If you want I can give you a call when everything's ready? Or you can wait in the kitchen if you want, I was just thinking... Best not to make too much noise, y'know?" He said with a gentle shrug. He wasn't wrong, really, let's be honest. A lot of noise could attract the wrong kind of attention.

 

[amlia]

It was obvious that he didn't particularly like Kyle, nor trust him. She wasn't sure about how he thought of her either so she backed off a little bit and gave Eric his space. Kyle looked amused when he joked with him and seemed to appreciate his sense of humor in this kind of sitatuon. They kind of needed a guy like him, didn't they?


"If you need or want help in the kitchen, let us know." Aria made sure they weren't there just for a place to sleep. She wanted to repay them for this, "None of us are picky either so that might make it easier." She cracked a smile.


Make the best of it. Treat them like they're nice people. There's no use in looking at each stranger as an enemy of sorts. "Thanks, Eric." She made sure to say and with that she turned to leave the room, tugging at Kyle's shirt while leaving. He got the message and gave Eric a nod before following and receiving a remote from Aria. "While Madeline's asleep," She told him and he scoffed.


"Shouldn't we show her?"


"I think we should tell her, yeah. But I'm not letting her watch it happen on the news." Aria mumbled as she sat at the couch.


"She can handle it, Aria. She's going to-"


"Channel three." She cut him off, telling him that it wasn't up for discussion.


The small three popped up in the corner as the button was pressed and soon the images replaced the cartoons. A female reporter's voice came quietly, warning the public and telling them what to do. Stay indoors, block the windows and doors, stay away from said windows and doors, save food. All that. It was intense, and even Kyle seemed intimidated. Who in their right mind wouldn't be?

 

[DrTrollinski]

Eric did appreciate the space he was given, simply because the lack of trust could become very overwhelming, especially if people crowded him and hung over him. He needed the space here and there, just so he could take the time to look over everyone and observe the situation. Give it a while, and he’d be warmed up to them. It was just going to take a little bit of time to do it, that was all.


“Sure. I’ll give you a shout if I need a hand. When we’ve eaten I’m going to make sure Alex goes up to bed for a while – He looks like he hasn’t slept all night, and seeing as he’s asleep at the kitchen table I can only guess that he didn’t sleep well, if at all. “When he’s gone up to bed… We can get more familiarized, maybe, and we can probably head upstairs and get that radio started up and see if there’s anything going on. If there’s nothing helpful to us on TV, there should be something on there.” He said.


“That reminds me… If we can’t get in contact with anyone official, there’s some old army veteran dude that lives across the street from us – He’s nuttier than a fruitcake, but he’s a nice man if you can give him the time of day. He’s… Sort of…” He whirled a finger around at the side of his head. “Losing it up here.” He finished. “He’s very forgetful, but he’s one of those guys that keeps all the army surplus and guns in his house. He might be able to help.” He explained.


“Anyway… See you soon.” He said, then retreated to the kitchen so that he could make the said soup – Chicken noodle soup, the best kind, alongside a plate of crusty bread. He didn’t know how bad things were getting out there, but he figured that he may as well make his guests feel more acquainted.

 

[amlia]

Knowing that there was someone who knew they're way through tricky situations like this just across the street made them each feel better. Even though he might be a little on the nutty side. Then again, nutty a month ago night turn into logical today. Imagine the field day the ones who have bunkers made for this are having, right?


Both sets of eyes were on the television in front of them, and soon it went to commercial. Kyles voice came after some time. Probably a lot of thought, "They're nice people." The girl looked his way for a moment, half surprised. How random.


"They are," she agreed quietly and commented, "you're calm."


"Well I can't sit here and have a fit, can I?"


"No one's stopping you." Aria raised an eyebrow at him before smirking, "Oh, I know. You just want to be all big and tuff, huh?"


Kyle rolled his eyes, his reply staying simple. It wasn't an answer she was expecting. She expected a smart ass remark, "I'm not letting either of you get hurt."


Fair enough. She didn't reply and instead motioned for him to change the channel as the young girl stirred.

 

[DrTrollinski]

When the soup was done, Eric walked through to the living room and sighed a little as he looked over them all. "The soup's cooked. I'm just serving it up now if you'd like to go through and see Alex." He said. "You can wake him up for me while you're in there, if you don't mind. I need to go and wake up Carl before we eat, so... If we can wake them both up at the same time, I think that we'd definitely be able to get things done quicker - We can go up and take a look at that radio when we're done, too." He said.


He walked out of the room and went upstairs to Carl's room and walked inside, peering over the little sleeping boy in his bed. He smiled a little and walked up to it, carefully shaking the little guy's arm to wake him up. "Carl, buddy..." He said softly. "Get up, pal, we're about to eat now, okay?" He said, and once Carl groaned and reached out to him to be picked up, he did just that and swept him up in his arms. Carl rested his head on his brother's shoulder and didn't speak so much as a word.


Alex was fast asleep at the kitchen table, his head still buried in his arms. He must have been exhausted, because right now, it honestly looked like he'd sleep through a war if you gave him the chance to. Ah, well, what could you do, right? Eric asked them to wake him up, and Alex didn't seem to come across as the sort of guy that would hit you if you disturbed his sleep, so... Why not, eh?

 

[amlia]

Kyle really just wanted to get on that radio and get ahold of something. He itched to contact authority and to question as to why they haven't gotten here and controlled this mess yet. They're here to protect us anyways, aren't they? They're doing a damned good job.


The man made a fist with his right hand and jokingly smacked it into his left when they were given the task of waking Alex. Aria left an elbow in his side while she passed on the way to the kitchen, the little girl perking up on the couch at the mention of food. "Alex," Aria mumbled while entering. She nudged him softly, took a peak at the soup and such, and then came back to nudge him again.


"Your brother made food," She said and watched for a moment to see if he moved. He was in such deep sleep that she wouldn't be surprised if he slept all the way through the meal. "It looks good. And then he said we could check out the radio upstairs." At his side she stood and shook his arm one last time.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Ugh?" Alex called out as he quickly sat up and looked at her, sighing a little. "Hey," He said, leaning back over his chair and stretching his back, yawning as he did so. He smelt the fresh soup and his stomach grumbled. "Sorry... I must have crashed out..." He said, then looked down at his watch and sighed once again. He'd been out for quite a while, but not as long as he thought. He looked at the crusty bread on the counter, then at the pan of gently bubbling soup, and he smiled. Only gently, though. Eric knew how to be thoughtful when he wanted to be, but sometimes, sometimes he just wasn't that thoughtful, mature fourteen-year-old boy. Ah, well.


Eric came downstairs with Carl in his arms. Once he got into the kitchen he smiled at them and then gently bounced the little boy up, whom of which was still busy rubbing the sleep out of his eyed. "Well, guys. Meet the handsome little devil that we're happy to call our brother - Carl." He grinned and looked at Carl for a minute, whom of which had fallen into a bout of shyness. "Say hi, buddy." He said to him, and Carl simply waved one hand at them but hid his face away in his brother's shoulder.


"Hi, guys..." Carl muttered shyly. Eric just chuckled and walked him over to the table, sitting him down on the chair opposite Alex. With that, he went off and poured some of the soup into six bowls, chicken noodle soup was the best they had, and carried the bowls over to the table, two at a time. He placed some spoons down, and then stacked up the bread onto a plate and put that in the center of the table where everyone could reach it if they wanted it.


"Okay, we're good to go - Let's eat, and then I'll show you where the radio is." He smiled.

 

[amlia]

Aria scrunched her nose at the sound of the cracking of his back, and then unscrunched it due to the fact that the smell of the food was just amazing. She didn't realize how hungry she was until now, while she stood with her mouth watering.


Kyle sauntered in behind her with Madeline attached to his hand. The girls face lit up as soon as she caught a whif of the food, but rather than running to the counter this time she sat at the table. In fact, she even circled the table in order to plop herself down in the chair right beside Alex. Kyle sat across from them, and Aria was in the process of sitting next to him when Eric and Carl walked in. A smile crossed her face when Carl went shy, and one could even be seen on Kyle. It's strange to see such a friendly feature on that man. He's a large, built guy who doesn't look friendly at all. All business. They each returned a friendly "Hello," and mAdeline could be seen at Alex's side with those wide and curious eyes. They were glued on Carl, who still hid.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Oh, hey there, sweetheart." Alex smiled down at the little girl that had sat down beside him and reached out, gently ruffling her fine head of hair. He thought she was quite sweet, actually, and she seemed to be quite an outgoing kid, possibly a smart one, too. She was getting used to them already, he presumed, either that, or she was working on it and learning about all of them. Regardless of that, he was happy that there was food on the table for him to eat, so the first thing he did was pick up his spoon and look over everyone. His brothers, and new friends, which was nice indeed. He'd maybe have a drink with that Kyle fella later on, because... He felt like maybe that'd be a good idea to do that. Just to break the ice.


"Well, everyone..." Eric sat Carl down in the seat beside his own, but Carl was still a little shy and huddled close to his side. Eric slowly nudged him away, though. "We may be in a bit of a... Dire situation, but.." He sighed as he picked up his spoon and looked at his soup. "You've got the best cook, lights, plumbing, and gas. What could be better?" He joked. "Seriously, though... Enjoy it. I think it's been a rough couple of days for all of us, and... I've decided, I'll be playin' you a song after we've checked out that radio, you know? I'm a guitarist, and a... " He sighed and shrugged. "A singer, too. Everyone says I'm great, but... Hey, I don't know. I'll let you be the judge." He chuckled as he spooned some soup into his mouth.


"He's not kidding." Alex said. "He thinks he's terrible, but... If you hear him, he's not terrible at all - The whole family, whenever he performed, always used to say that he could make it big if he tried." He said with a shrug as he dunked his bread into his soup and then took a bite. "But hey, what can you do?" He asked. "He likes performing, anyway... He just hasn't done it in front of a huge audience yet, and all." He shrugged a little and smiled, looking around again. ".. Maybe--.. Maybe we should get to know each other a little more while we eat?" He asked. "You guys all family? If you don't mind me asking, of course." He said.

 

[amlia]

"A song! I like songs. What song?" Madeline retreated, sitting up straighter so that she had no problem getting to her food. She took hold of her spoon, pushing her hair away from her forehead childishly. Kyle followed her lead with a smile. They were each clearly interested at the idea of music, and it was something that seemed to calm them in a way. It took their minds off of it all.


When Alex had asked if they were family or not, Aria and Kyle exchanged a look. Aria was first though, "I don't have any brothers or sisters." Madeline said before scooping another spoonful of soup into her mouth. "No, we're not."-"It's debatable." Kyle corrected Aria, who shur her mouth to let him explain.


"We're fostered. Aria's from.. Virginia? And I'm from a few towns over."


Madeline seemed too focused on her food to be concerned about her parents and that was a major relief. Aria wasn't sure how to tell her about her parents, and she didn't want Kyle to do it. He was totally fine with just telling her they were dead and while Madeline was more mature for her age, no one can handle that too well.


"Thank you for this," Aria laughed lightly at herself, "I don't know how many times I'll say it, but thank you."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"A song..." Eric smiled. "I was thinkin' somethin' gentle. A Neil Young song - I don't know if you know Neil Young, but the one I'm playing will be gentle, so that's going to remain a surprise for now." He laughed a little and continued to eat his food. He was starving, too, and after all of the stress of the previous night, he was kind of grateful that he had food in front of him, even if it was the stuff he made himself. It was good, though, really good, and he wanted it to be in front of him for the rest of his days right now, because his stomach just wouldn't stop growling at all, you know?


"I'm sorry if any of you are Christian." Alex spoke out. "I know that a lot of Christian families say grace before meals and such - I apologize if you're of that religion, but... I think we've all been worrying about what's going on out there rather than thinking about praising the lord, you know what I mean?" He asked, adding on a faint chuckle as he bit into his bread again. "I think I heard Eric say something about a radio... It's in the attic. Our dad was a bit of an old-fashioned guy, and he kept one of his old desks and a chair up there that he never used. Some sort of nostalgia thing from when he was a kid." He shrugged.


"The radio works, though." Eric said, slurping up some more soup.


"How do you know?" Alex asked, but not spitefully.


"I went up there not too long ago and decided to explore. He's got some cool stuff up there - Like, an old 1876 blunderbuss, ehm... Some old banjo, like, from eighty-odd years ago. A violin that's about a hundred and fifty years old, one of my old guitars... Quite a lot of stuff. I turned the radio on when I was last up there when dad was off at work, and it works just fine. Heard a bunch of old guys yappin' away on it." He grinned.


Well, that's reassuring.

 

[amlia]

"I like music," Madeline repeated herself and shoved another bite of the bread into her mouth. God, she was adorable. Every once in a while she'd be caught watching Carl with her wide and curious eyes. The girl was so fascinated in him since she never truly socialized with more than one or two kids her age outside of school. With her home life, she never got a chance. She was always stuck with a babysitter or something.


"If we can't find anything on there, it'll offer us some good music, no?" Aria suggested while finishing up her soup. It was good, she had to admit.


It was clear that Kyle wanted to just focus on the problem. He was always so serious and it was no surprise that he wasn't a fan of sitting in here and socializing with strangers. He wanted to get to the country. If only Aria hadn't made him stop, right?


His silence was ignored and Aria looked to the three brothers. That wasn't something that needed to be discussed here at the table- where they were trying to have lighthearted conversations, "I know a song or two by Neil Young," she commented. "I lived with an older couple for a little bit and the woman really liked him."

 

[DrTrollinski]

Once Eric had finished his soup and bread, he looked over to Alex, whom of which quite simply looked back at him. He sighed for a moment, but then looked at the table with a tired look. His eyes were all over the place right now - He was nervous about something, or upset, or... Well, who knew. "I could go check the radio." Alex suggested. "There's no use all of us going up there... Plus, there's some... Family stuff up there that our dad held dear - I'm not worried about it getting stolen or anything, it's just... Ugh, our dad was very protective of the stuff that was up there, because some of it meant a lot to him, to all of us, because it was stuff that us three and him shared, so it was quite a sacred place to him. To honor him, I think... I just think this would be a better plan, you know?" He said, linking his hands in front of his mouth for a moment.


He felt it all come back to him - His father's headless body, and the thought of the bullet flying through the skull of his mother, all done by his father's gun, but by his own hand. Horrible. He blinked a few times as tears came to his eyes and shook his head, slowly rising to his feet. "Excuse me for a minute." He choked out. "My dad taught me about radio transmissions, anyway." He said quickly, then retreated out of the kitchen and speedily made his way up the stairs. Eric looked down at the table and then up at the three sat around the table with them.


"I'm sorry about that." He nodded once. "He's not... I know he's only been back for a while, but he's not doing well, and I don't know why quite yet." He said, scratching his chin for a moment. "Tell you what... I'll go get the guitar, and..." He shook his head ."We'll sit here, let him... Well, give him some time alone, see if he can dig anything up on that radio. He wasn't lying about everything up there being special, and with the mood he's in right now, I'd rather not go against what he said - I hope you can understand that." He said, slowly rising to his feet. "You okay to wait her e for thirty seconds, bro?" He asked, looking at Carl.


Carl looked over the three of them and then back to Eric, nodding twice. Once Eric had vanished to fetch his guitar, Carl sat there in silence. He was a shy child, as you can see.